Gundam SEED: Second Chances
by DragonKnightRyu
Summary: Gone without a trace from his home universe and thrusted into a new one, Amuro Ray is about to learn that it wasn't just his Universe that was fucked up...
1. Chapter 1: Crossing Stars

Disclaimer: None of us own Gundam SEED. Goddamn Sunrise… Furthermore, any franchises that make cameos here belong to their respective owners.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Radio"_

Chapter One: Crossing Stars

* * *

_**Heliopolis**_** Island 3-Class Colony, Recreational Park**

* * *

A young 16 year old woman with waist length, wavy brown hair, expressive amethyst eyes following lines of coding as she wrote them out into her personal portable terminal, she was an attractive woman with firm C-cupped breasts and a slim waist with enough hip to catch attention. She was currently clad in a black, skintight tank top that clung to her curves, much to the appreciation to passing males, and some females, with a pair of jogging pants and running shoes. "Ah, man!" she moaned out in complaint. "Why does Kato have to dump this stuff onto us, Hanami-chan?"

"Probably be… because we're the only two students in his class that can consistently score high in our projects?" A young woman of the same age sitting opposite her looked up from her own terminal. Hanami also ranked among the most attractive women in their class, with large, soft E-cup breasts that flowed into a slightly wider waist than her friend, although her womanly hips were currently hidden under the flowing white dress she currently wore. Her long, wavy silver hair was currently tied in a ponytail to prevent it getting in her way, though she usually didn't tie it up.

Kira groaned again. "That's true, but this is ridiculous," she groaned out. "This is the work for _actual _Morgenroete Engineers and Programmers, they can't be _that _stupid that they can't figure it out!"

"Well…" Hanami scratched her head as she stared at a particularly tricky algorithm. "How many of them are Coordinators like us again?"

"I guess, but the least he could do is pay us!" Kira declared angrily. "Jeez, this almost looks like that OS Commander Hisanaga had us look over for his unit."

An error warning tone suddenly popped up as Hanami accidentally hit the wrong key. "Ah," her cheeks gained a light dusting of red. "I was wondering why there was an algorithm for compensation for ALL kinds of terrain characteristics in the mobility program…" she attempted to cover up her mistake.

Kira's smirk told Hanami all she needed to know about what Kira thought of her excuse. "So… made any headway with your… _boyfriend?_" she asked teasingly.

"It's… it's… it's not like that!" Hanami waved her hands in the air comically. "I mean… we're not even THAT… that close yet… and we haven't done anything…" she sighed and started poking her fingers together shyly.

Kira giggled in response to her friend's embarrassment. "Well, there is that rumour I heard where you were kissing the Commander goodbye when you went to see him on base…" she informed, her grin widening. "I would call that something."

A thump ensued as Hanami's head crashed onto the table. "Eh… uh… ah…" she stammered intelligently.

Kira let out a laugh at her friend's expense. "It's alright Hanami-chan," she assured. "I remember how long it took you to work up the courage to admit your feelings, only for him to ask you out before you could say anything."

"I… didn't expect that one either," the silverette confessed, rubbing her thighs together. "I was so close to doing it first… but then Ryu-kun…"

"Although his expression when you fainted was hilarious," Kira informed with a giggle. "He just stood there for like a minute, dumbfounded before he began to panic!"

"Kira-chan!" a scandalized Hanami covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

Kira laughed again in amusement as she reached over and hugged her friend. "I'm sorry, Hanami-chan, but you make it _so _easy to tease you," she informed between her bouts of laughter. "He did tell me though, he thought it was cute how embarrassed you get sometimes."

"Mou… It's… it's not like I want to faint every time I meet him…" Hanami pouted.

Kira giggled. "But you do, and he _loves _you for it," she teased, poking her.

Hanami's shoulders sagged in resignation. "I guess so… but I don't really… wanthimtocarrymetobedeverytimeIfaintwhenIkisshim."

Kira smiled at her friend as she gave her a hug. "Just have more confidence in yourself, Hanami-chan," she told her roommate. "You are one of the most beautiful women on the Colony right now, smart enough to keep up with me, that's a rare feat believe me, an _amazing _cook, really kind and gentle and a large heart. And believe me, he's _more _than happy to play Prince Charming and carry you to bed, and that little kiss he gives you after tucking you in is just adorable."

Hanami froze. "He… he… he… gives me a little ki… ki… kiss… after… after tucking me in…?" She promptly fainted on the table after the realization.

Kira let out a sigh as she mentally counted to three before looking at her unconscious friend. "Good afternoon, Kagami-chan," she greeted as the silverette stirred.

"Not again," Hanami's alter ego made herself known with a grumble as she got up, her formerly cerulean blue eyes having changed to a deep red to indicate the change. "How many times has this happened already? Actually, don't bother counting, I'm pretty sure it's in the triple digits already."

"Three hundred and seventy two times," Kira informed cheekily. "Since we've met."

"So… a little over a third of the way to the quadruple digits," Kagami muttered. "You'd think Hanami would have built up a bit more confidence by now… Well, at least she's happy."

Kira giggled. "Gave the Commander quite a shock when you first showed up, eh?" she asked her alter-ego friend. "I think _he _nearly fainted."

"I think I still have the photo from that time, hold up a second," Kagami grinned as she dug into her terminal and brought up the photo in question. "Yup, that look on his face was, and still is priceless!"

Kira and Kagami shared a laugh as they looked at the photo. "Wonder when Hanami-chan will realize that those 'little kisses' you get from the Commander, aren't so little," Kira wondered, sending the alter a sly look. "Kinda surprised you haven't kicked me out of the dorm room yet when you guys got back from a date, Kagami-chan."

Kagami got a dreamy look on her face at the thought. "Well, think of it as me enjoying it for Hanami's sake. I'm sorely tempted to do the deed myself… but I'm pretty sure Hanami will notice if she wakes up in the morning all sore down there."

"Probably," Kira agreed, giggling again. "Still, gotta admit, I was surprised when you and the Commander of the local garrison got together, hell, I heard he was dancing during the drills the morning after, wait, I got a video of him doing the can-can in his mobile suit."

"Oooh, blackmail material on Ryu-kun," Kagami giggled at the thought of a mobile suit doing the can-can. "Can't ever have enough blackmail material!"

Kira laughed in agreement. "That you cannot," she said before an idea struck her. "Hey, do you think Ryu would be willing to help us get out of this, y'know, like when he took you to see the circus by telling Kato he needs our programming skills to check base security?"

"I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind helping. Wait, let me send him an e-mail," Kagami quickly began typing on her terminal, her lithe fingers flashing across the keyboard so fast they were barely visible. "Aaaaand done."

It took only a few minutes for the response to come in the form of a video call. "_Hey… ah, Kagami-chan, should've known it was you trying to sneak out of homework,_" Commander Ryu Hisanaga of the ORB forces stationed on the Colony said to his girlfriend as she picked up, it was easily visible that he was in his mobile suit from the cockpit around him, although he wasn't wearing the standard flight suit. "_So, wanna skip class, huh?_"

"But Kato keeps chucking these assignments at us that are waaaaaay above our pay grade!" Kagami pouted and stuck out her tongue. "Not that we even have a pay grade, but still!"

Ryu chuckled, his vibrant green eyes flashing as he ran a hand through his slightly shaggy brown hair. "_Well, if you don't mind, there is something I could use your help with,_" he informed. "_A real hush-hush ORB Project, you'll have to sign a confidentiality agreement, but you'd be getting four figures cash if you figure it out._"

"I take it we can't talk about it over an unencrypted video conference then?" Kagami raised an eyebrow.

Ryu shook his head in a negative. "_Unfortunately no, when I say real hush-hush, I mean even speaking the name of the project is grounds for dismissal, if not prison time,_" he informed. "_You don't have to, and I'll still get you out of class, but I'm talking _high-end _four figures here._"

Kagami whistled. "Count me in. Kira-chan?"

Kira shrugged. "I don't see why not," she agreed as she closed her terminal and packed it away with the papers she was working on. "Where do we go?"

"_I'll pick you up outside of the base, talk to Ivan, he'll have you sign the forms necessary for access,_" Ryu informed. "_I'll bring you in from there._"

"Alright, Ryu-kun. By the way… what's this I hear about doing the can-can in a mobile suit?" Kagami snuck in a final shot with an all-too-innocent grin adorning her face.

Ryu froze before scowling at Kira. "_You hacked the Base Security camera's, didn't you, you witch!_" Ryu shouted at his fellow brunette who only laughed in response. "_I'll get you for that!_" he swore before the link cut off.

"Priceless," Kagami grinned, taking her finger off the printscreen key.

Kira laughed as she looked at the picture of Ryu's shocked face. "Nothing like having blackmail, huh?" she asked. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Hmm…" Kagami tapped her finger on her chin in thought. "Well… I've been thinking I need to go on a shopping trip recently and I can't use Hanami's money for it or she'll notice…"

Kira giggled. "I think I might get in on _that _action," she informed, before hefting her breasts. "It's been getting tight around the chest area lately, although… probably not as tight as yours is."

"Tell me about it. They're still growing too - we have to get new clothes almost every 2 months or else they start chafing uncomfortably," Kagami grumbled, looking down at her own assets.

Kira sighed. "I bet Ryu enjoys them, though," she said with a look at Kagami's… assets. "Have you let him 'in', so to speak?"

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," the silverette's eyes twinkled in amusement.

Kira snorted in amusement as she shook her head at her friend. "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard," she sang through her laughter, making the hobbyist chef laugh with her. "C'mon, let's go meet your boy toy."

Kagami nodded in agreement as she packed away the last of her stuff and followed Kira towards the Vehicle Terminal.

"Hey there, Imouto!" called out a man around 21 years old, with hair and eye color just like Kira's, though his hair was done in a buzzcut and he also had a fairly bushy moustache. He was also wearing a dark blue jacket over a similar color shirt, with black pants, shoes, and socks.

"Hey, Take-nii!" Kira greeted her older brother, Takeshi Yamato. "Where are you off to?"

"Got a meeting with some potential business partners," Takeshi replied, having decided a long time ago that he didn't want his sister getting involved in his particular line of work. "If things go well, I'm afraid I'll need to go on a trip again."

Kira let out a huff as she pouted. "Man, Take-nii, why don't you ever tell me what you're _really _up too," she whined out. "Fine, but I want you over for dinner when you get back!"

Takeshi nodded. "Sure thing, Imouto," he replied. "So, what are you up to? I'd have thought you'd still be at that gazebo, working on those assignments for Kato."

Kira shrugged. "Commander Hisanaga is offering us an actually paying quick job for some real classified project he's involved in," she informed. "And since Kato doesn't pay us…"

Takeshi nodded again. "Makes sense," he replied. After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision as he added, "And Imouto, I'm sorry about keeping just what I do secret from you, but given the war, my job tends to place me in danger a lot, and I feel like the less you know about my work, the safer you are."

Kira sent her brother a look. "Take-nii, my best friend is the girlfriend of the Commander of the Local ORB forces here on Heliopolis, I have the _entire _Colony's camera system under my command, I am a _Black Belt _in Muay Thai, Kick Boxing and Aikido," she informed. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself, but… you can keep your secret… for now."

Takeshi nodded. He still wasn't all that convinced, but he realized she likely wasn't going to let this drop, and he'd have to come clean eventually. "Alright," he said, as they approached the Vehicle Terminal.

"Oh great, the bitches three," Kagami groaned as she glared at a trio of girls who were gossiping at the Vehicle Terminal. "I wouldn't hate the other two so much if it wasn't for them blindly agreeing with Flay's Anti-Coordinator bullcrap."

"Agreed," Takeshi replied. "Though in Flay's case, it's a matter of the apple not falling far from the tree - don't forget who her father is, after all." He sighed. "I'm glad Linda-chan was able to get out from under his thumb, but her greatest regret is failing to take Flay with her."

Kira sighed as they entered the Terminal. "Still, she hasn't been as much of a bother since I hacked her private webcam and took some… interesting photos," Kira informed with a sly grin. "She knows better than to bother us."

Takeshi grinned at his sister. "Always the uber hacker, Imouto," he remarked. "Still, I'm going to have to bring Linda-chan over to meet you sometime - I've been meaning to for a few months now, but haven't had a chance to yet."

"I would hope so, Mr. I-got-engaged-without-my-sister's-approval," Kira informed angrily. "Who knows what kind of trouble she might get you in!"

Takeshi sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll try and bring her over once I get back from our business trip," he replied. "And honestly, the only 'trouble' we might get into would be the kind that means we have to move the wedding date forward."

Kira narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Don't you _dare _say that you have, Take-nii, if so I _will _hurt you."

Takeshi shook his head. "Haven't developed that kind of trouble yet, Imouto," he replied. "Just saying that it's about the only possible 'trouble' she could personally get me into - she's one of my co-workers, so she naturally gets drawn into any work-related troubles that I am, but neither she nor I am to blame for those troubles."

"We'll see, Take-nii, we'll see," Kira informed. "If she doesn't show up when you return, I'll be hacking into her public file to figure out what she's like!"

Takeshi nodded. "Alright, I'll do my best," he replied, before spotting a trio of newcomers, ones he recognized from some of the 'business discussions' he'd had. "Ah, Miss Badgiruel," he called out. "Fancy seeing you out here."

"Mr. Yamato," Natarle Badgiruel, a stiff looking woman with short black hair and hard blue eyes, replied. "I did not know you had family here."

"My Imouto," he replied. "She's a student at the technical college, though she's currently been bailed from classes by a friend of a friend." He gestured from Kira to Natarle. "Imouto, this is Natarle Badgiruel, one of the business partners I mentioned earlier."

"Hello," Kira greeted politely. "This is my friend, Hanami Yukikaze, a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Badgiruel," Kagami nodded, responding to her original personality's name.

Badgiruel nodded to the pair before turning back to Takeshi. "Please remember to be on time for final launch preparations, Mr. Yamato," she ordered, before walking to one of the vehicles and headed off.

Takeshi waved as she drove off, then sighed once she was out of both earshot and visual range. "She's one of the… stiffer members of that group," he remarked. "Always worried about rules and regs, and following them to the letter… I don't usually say this, but she needs to get laid."

"Locked into a room until completely unwound," Kira agreed. "Good luck with that one, Take-nii."

"That almost felt suffocating," Kagami agreed.

"Yeah," Takeshi replied. "Well, have fun with Ryu, you two," he said as he got into a car.

"Cya later Take-nii, and don't forget to bring her this time!" Kira shouted out as he began to drive away.

Takeshi simply waved, as his car drove towards Morgenroete, more specifically the special facility dedicated to his part of the project Morgenroete was working on… and his payment for making sure the products of the project made it to their destination safely.

Kira and Kagami were next into the auto cars, selecting the local base as their destination they began to ride off. "So, wonder what this project is that he wants out help on?" Kira mused as the car sped through the Colony.

"Definitely something to do with mobile suits, otherwise he wouldn't even be suggesting this kind of work," Kagami mused.

"Do you think Morgenroete's making some new mobile suits for ORB?" Kira asked. "Cause I know there's people worried about ORB not having any Mobile Suits of their own…"

"I won't be surprised if that's really the case. Kato's pushing military-grade work to us after all…" Kagami sighed. "Helps that the code looks faaaaar too much like a mobile suit OS to be a coincidence."

Kira nodded in agreement. "At least with the Commander we get paid when we do his work for him," she replied with a grin. "Even if we are considered to be members of ORB's Military for the duration of our work."

"So… did you get any data on what's going on in Morgenroete?" Kagami smiled.

"Some, looks like some kind of armor system is being developed," Kira informed. "Aside from that, not much, they got a lot of alerts waiting to be tripped."

"Definitely some really top secret stuff if even you can't crack the protection," Kagami frowned, loosening her ponytail and letting her long silver hair fly in the wind. "Ah, that feels so much better."

Kira giggled. "It's not that I _can't _get past it, I just don't want to risk it right now," she amended. "After all, don't want the men in black knocking at my door."

"So you say, but you'd probably just martial arts them to hell if they did come," the silverette rolled her eyes. "And don't forget your onii-chan. I'm still pretty convinced he's a siscon."

Kira groaned in response. "Dear lord, don't remind me," she said as she slumped. "He's the reason no one on this Colony has enough balls to date me!"

"Have you ever tried using the puppy eyes technique on him? It works wonders on Ryu-kun you know," Kagami laughed.

Kira sent her friend a dry look. "That just makes it worse, Kagami-chan," she informed. "_FAR _worse."

"Tch, I thought it worked on every guy out there," Kagami deflated slightly, then perked up as she got another idea. "What about hunting down his collection of unmentionables for blackmail material?"

Kira shook her head. "He knows me too well," she informed. "And he keeps his personal terminal off of the public networks so I can't get a link to hack it with."

"Ugh," Kagami made a face. "That's not fair."

"I know, right!" Kira agreed with a pout. "How can I be a proper sister without any blackmail material!?"

"And I don't think I can get Ryu-kun to pull any strings to help you out…" Kagami sighed. "Speaking of which, I see him!"

Looking up, they say Ryu, clad in the white ORB uniform with the sleeves to the shirt rolled up with the markings of a Commander on it, waving at the pair from the entrance to the Garrison base, the vehicle slowed down at the Base Terminal before stopping, allowing the pair to step out. "Hey, Kagami-chan, witch," he greeted, kissing his girlfriend before teasing Kira. "Curdle any milk recently?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Kira remarked. "Nothing really going on, aside from Take-nii having another business trip."

"Him and his 'business trips' huh," Ryu commented as he led the two to the check in station where they quickly went through several forms. "Like usual you two will be apart of the ORB Military at the rank of Ensign, upon completion of the project you two will be discharged and paid a total of $7,800 each for services rendered, understand?"

Kira nodded. "That works for me," she said. "What about you, Kagami-chan?"

"Of course!" Kagami chirped, pressing her chest against Ryu's arm. "So… can we get some info on what's going on now?"

"We need your help developing a Natural-Use Operating System for some mobile suits Morgenroete is producing for the ORB Military," Ryu informed as he led the two deeper into the base. "The units themselves are ready, but we don't have a proper operating system for them."

"Alright," Kira replied. "Makes sense… by the way, Kagami-chan and I were speculating that the work Professor Kato's been having us do is a Mobile Suit OS, too. Is he a part of this project?"

Ryu shook his head. "Another Project that is unfortunately above your current paygrade… _ensign,_" he informed, teasing her with her temporary rank. "And it looks like I'll be having to have a conversation with Kato about proper management techniques…"

Kagami stuck out her tongue. "And his lecturing skills. Honestly, half the time I feel like he's just tossing us headfirst into the pool and asking us to swim right off the bat. I know Kira-chan and I can handle it, but it ends up making the rest of the class ask us for pointers every time a new project comes around."

Ryu sighed. "Screw Kato, I'm going to Simmons about that," he groaned, mentioning the Chief Engineer of Morgenroete. "That guy touts himself as a genius, tell me, was it you two who figured out the energy transference ratio?"

"Yeah," Kira replied. "Took us a few days, and had to get Kagami out to the forefront again, but we managed to do it."

"My brain still hurts from that," Kagami groaned. "Hanami woke up with a headache after we were done with it."

"I am going to murder that fucker," Ryu growled. "Using students for military projects, not even having them sign a confidentiality agreement so that they know _what _they are working on, no, death is too _good_ for him."

"He needs to be pranked, and pranked _**hard**_, I think," Kira replied with a feral grin, before turning to Kagami. "What do you think, Kagami-chan? Ultimate Revenge Prank?"

"Oh, definitely, Kira-chan," Kagami cackled, already running through a mental checklist of the ideas she had for pranks.

Ryu raised his eyebrow before sighing. "Let me know if you want my mobile suit for this one this time," he told the duo. "Command was _not _happy when they found out that my girlfriend hijacked the Dragon to play a prank."

"No promises," Kira remarked. "We don't want to potentially implicate you in whatever we do, after all."

"That was just the one time… and we made sure to give it a fresh coat of paint after we were done with it anyway," Kagami grinned.

Ryu sent her a glare. "You painted it pink!" he countered angrily. "Not to mention the property damage!"

"Maa, maa, it was just a house… or two," Kagami squashed her breasts against Ryu's chest and started idly drawing circles on his chest. "It all turned out okay in the end anyway, right, Ryu-kun?"

Ryu's eye twitched as he felt her… assets against his chest. "You damned succubus," he groaned out as the matter was dropped, unable to resist Kagami's capabilities to uses her feminine assets against him.

"You know you love me anyway," Kagami smiled cheekily as she dropped a hint. "I don't think it'll be long before Hanami decides she wants to do _it_, she's been considering it these last few days. So you should definitely have something to look forward to."

Ryu coughed slightly into his hand, a flush building onto his face. "Minx," he growled at her. "You're just as bad as the witch over there sometimes."

"I'll take that as a compliment," the silverette laughed and leaned forward to kiss Ryu.

Ryu rolled his eyes but pulled her in for a kiss nonetheless, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist. "What will I ever do with you?" he asked jokingly. "I'm almost scared of the time Hanami-chan decides to take me to bed, between the two of you, you'd drain me dry!"

"Let's just say… there are some_ things_ I've been meaning to try," Kagami chuckled seductively, squeezing her breasts with her arms for extra emphasis. "I'm pretty sure Hanami's going to faint at some point and let me out after all."

Ryu chuckled as he shook his head. "Minx," he said again. "Now stop distracting me, we've got work to do, La Flaga is waiting for us."

Kira nodded, and they headed out once more.

Ryu quickly led them to what seemed to be a simple structure built next to a cliff, but was quickly revealed just to be the entrance to a large underground complex. "Welcome to _Heliopolis' _Secret underground testing facilities," Ryu said as they entered in to spot a trio of mobile suits in docking stations. "Those are the ones we're working on, the MVF-P01 Astray Gundam Black Frame, the MBF-P07 Exodus Gundam, and the MDF-P00 Astray Gundam Zero."

"Hmm. They look nothing like ZAFT's mobile suits," Kagami idly commented as she sized up the three units. "What's with the Gundam in the names?"

"Acronym for the Operating System: **G**eneral **U**nilateral **N**euro - Link **D**ispersive **A**utonomic **M**aneuver," Ryu informed. "One of the Engineers coined the phrase 'Gundam' for the project early on."

"Sounds like a powerful name," Kira remarked. "I'd imagine these things are going to be mass-produced eventually?"

"Eventually, but only if we can get the OS working for Natural Pilots," he informed as they approached one of the computer stations where a blond haired man wearing the same uniform as Ryu, only his Lieutenant Barred Jacket was off and tied around his waist. "La Flaga, you remember Hanami-chan and Kira, right?"

"Yeah, I remember them," Mu la Flaga replied. "Hard to forget the ones who somehow managed to reverse the controls on my Locker Room Shower."

"Oh, hello there, Hawk-san," Kagami grinned cheekily.

Mu let out a defeated sigh as he slumped. "I just can't escape it, can I?" he groaned out piteously. "Not when I was in the Alliance, and not when I'm in ORB, well… at least they're no Commando Fangirls…" both he and Ryu shuddered at the thought.

"Hawk, you _promised _to _never _bring that up again!" Ryu hissed. "You'll bring them down upon us!"

"You two really are terrified of Fangirls, aren't you?" Kira asked.

"Let me put it this way, no matter _what_ your minds think of, they will not even come _close _to what their depraved minds are capable of, and their bodies capable of following through," Ryu informed, looking around. "No more, to speak of them, is to summon them…"

"From the ones I've seen roaming around the campus, I'd say they were an entirely different species of humans," Kagami nodded.

"Those are _normal _fangirls," Mu clarified. "_Commando _fangirls are a breed apart… so much rope…"

"You know, that actually gives me a couple more ideas for pranks," the silverette rubbed her hands together gleefully. "Rope, huh…"

"No!" the two males coursed as one. "Absolutely not," Ryu continued, before thinking for a minute. "So long as Mu and I are not involved and we don't see it."

"Oh don't worry about it… I'll just save those for anyone who even thinks of going after my dear Ryu-kun… ufufufu~" Kagami's form shimmered for a moment before the spectral visage of a Noh mask appeared floating in the air behind her and the air was saturated with killing intent.

Ryu deadpanned as Mu blanched and Kira shuddered at the sight of the Noh masked. "That thing is creepy as fuck," Ryu deadpanned. "Please stop it, Kagami-chan."

"Ara ara, what could you possibly be talking about?" Kagami brought her hand to her mouth, smiling faux-innocently as the mask and accompanying killing intent disappeared into thin air.

Mu shuddered again as he looked at Kagami. "Your girlfriend creeps me out, man," Mu informed. "How is it you met again?"

"Back alley? Dozen Blue Cosmos Thugs," Ryu replied. "Ring any bells?"

Kagami stifled a gasp as her face paled. Half a second later she was hiding behind Ryu, clutching his uniform in her clenched fists and hyperventilating while burying her face in his back.

"It's alright, Kagami-chan," Ryu informed softly as he turned around to wrap his arms gently around her. "So long as I draw breath, _no one _will harm you…"

"R-Ryu-kun…" Kagami whispered softly, relaxing into the hug as she attempted to calm herself down. The memories of that night rose unbidden to the forefront of her mind - it had been the incident that had created Hanami's alter ego after all, and it had been rather traumatic for both of them.

Ryu softly kissed her temple as he whispered soothing words into her ear. "You're safe here, Kagami-chan," he whispered. "Within these arms of mine you will always be safe…"

"Kagami-chan?" Kira asked in surprise from her friends confident and fearless alter. "Wh… what happened to make you so scared?"

Kagami took a deep breath, drawing confidence from Ryu's warm arms wrapped around her shaking form. "That night… Hanami came very close to being ra-ra-raped by a whole bunch of Blue Cosmos thugs. It was the… incident that created me in the first place. I managed to fight off a few of them in hand-to-hand after they ripped off my clothes, but I g-got pi-pinned down… a-and…" she lost her composure again and buried her face back into Ryu's shirt, sobbing gently.

Ryu simply squeezed her closer to him as he kissed her temple. "That's when I arrived," he informed. "Every single one of them save two are now serving life in prison, the two are now dead."

"I came thi-this close to being de-defiled before Ryu-kun stepped in," Kagami hesitantly raised her index finger and thumb, roughly half an inch between them. "Even now I still remember that night as if it happened yesterday…" her eyes gained a haunted look to them as her shaking form leaned into Ryu's embrace.

"Kagami-chan…" Kira murmured, her eyes brimming with tears as she ran forward to join the embrace. "You idiot! You should have told me about that! Bearing that alone…"

"I… can't even talk about i-it without Ryu-kun nearby… Kira-chan, I'm sorry… I just get a panic attack until he comes to help…" Kagami whimpered.

"It's alright, Kagami-chan, I understand," Kira replied, slightly tightening her grip on Hanami. "I honestly can't say I'd react any differently if it happened to me…"

Mu growled. "Which prison are those assholes in?" he asked, his eyes flashing angrily.

Ryu smirked. "Hanison," he informed. "That triple max prison out in the middle of butt fuck nowhere Lagrange 5, and I may or may not have paid off a few of the guards to let slip that they were all pedophiles…"

Kagami let out a forced laugh. "I heard pedos get treated the worst, especially by other prisoners…"

"Which is why I bribed the guards," Ryu commented, softly running a hair through her silver hair. "And I may or may not have slipped notes to the prisoners telling them to make them suffer without the release of death."

"Serves them right…" Kagami breathed out a sigh of relief. "Ryu-kun… I'm okay now," she added, though still in a somewhat more subdued manner than normal.

"Who said I'm willing to let you go?" Ryu asked as he continued to hold her, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I know you Kagami-chan, you're still scared… stay with me…"

The silverette stayed silent, and simply let Ryu hold her close.

"So, Kira, mind taking a look at my OS," Mu said softly to the student. "We should leave them be for a bit."

"Sure, that works," Kira whispered back. "Any problems, or just a fine-tuning?"

"Too many problems," Mu announced. "Need a complete revamping, this _was _the Earth Alliance's attempt at making an OS a Natural is capable of using, right now we'd need a Quantum Computer to assist in piloting it, which isn't really applicable for mass production, and the reason we're trying to solve this now."

Kira nodded, as she was brought to a computer. "Alright, then," she said as she started typing, bringing up the coding. "Let's see what we're… working… with… What the hell?!"

The reason for the expletive was quite clear - the OS she was taking a look at was exactly the same as the one Kato had given her and Hanami to start out with!

"Look," Mu whispered into her ear. "I am aware that both you and Kagami/Hanami are the ones who made this, Kato will be dealt with later, but… ORB _needs _this OS for its new Mobile Suits…"

"Alright," Kira replied, as she set to typing. "Just make sure we're a part of dealing with him… I am going to be pranking him _**so hard…**_"

Mu smirked as he patted her back. "Thanks kid," he said gratefully. "And don't worry, we'll let you get a solid prank out of him before we turn Ryu loose on him."

Kagami let out an odd noise which sounded like something in between a bark of laughter and a grunt.

Ryu chuckled as he ran a hand through her hair. "Better?" he asked in a soft whisper.

"A bit more time… please," Kagami replied softly.

Ryu nodded as he tightened his arms slightly around her. "As much time as you need, Kagami-chan," he informed. "I know how hard this is for you…"

Kira smiled, even as she continued typing. Ryu and Hanami/Kagami were such a cute couple, no matter which of Hanami's personalities was dominant…

A part of her wished that she could have a relationship like that someday…

Mu let out a sigh. "Man, Ryu was always the lucky one with the ladies," Mu informed. "For me it was always the One-Night Standers."

Kira simply nodded, even as she kept working. She didn't really feel attracted to Mu, but she could understand his plight.

Mu sighed as a Non-Com Private came running up and whispered something into his ear. Letting out a loud curse, he caught the attention of the others. "ZAFT has been spotted outside of the Colony in the Asteroid Field."

"What!" Ryu called out, still holding a now-startled Kagami. "How many?"

Kira immediately shifted her typing, shifting the OS off to the side as she gained access to the cameras and sensors. "Looks like a _Nazca_ and a _Laurasia_," she remarked as she read the data. "That's a lot of firepower, especially considering their Mobile Suit Contingents… hold on… Dammit, I'm also picking up a couple empty shuttles near an external hatch! I think we have infiltrators!"

Ryu frowned before sending Kagami an apologetic smile as he let go of her. "Ensign, go to the security room and sound the silent alarm," he informed. "Then I want a _thorough _search of the ventilation, Kira, Kagami-chan, can you help them with that by searching the Colony Camera network?"

"Already on it," Kira replied, her fingers flying over the keyboards. "No sign of them yet, but I'm still looking - hello, what's a Warship doing in that bay?"

Ryu looked over to Kagami. "Kagami-chan?" he asked, concern filling his eyes.

Kagami nodded at Ryu, flashing him a look with her eyes that told him not to worry about her, before running to a terminal beside Kira and quickly booting it up.

"Thank you," Ryu whispered to her. "Mu, load up that Quantum Computer into the Astray Zero, we'll be launching, see if we can scout out the situation outside."

"I don't have the infiltrators _**now**_," Kira remarked, "but I managed to get some archive footage, so I know where they've been." One image showed up on a screen large enough for Ryu and Mu to see - several people in ZAFT Normal Suits, five Red and the rest Green, inside the bay with the Warship, planting what even Kira could tell were explosive charges.

"That's the _Archangel_'s construction bay," Ryu murmured before bringing up a radio set. "Hisanaga to Ghost Squadron, explosives found in Bay F33, we need you there and disarming the explosives."

Kira filed the name of the warship, _Archangel_, away for later. For now, she continued searching through camera after camera, as she searched for the infiltrators - "I've got them!" she called out. "They've just entered into the colony interior - looks like they're on a hill overlooking the Morgenroete facilities!"

"Hisanaga to Sword and Hammer squads, Infiltrators are in section Three area Four," Ryu informed. "Do _not _let them near the G-Weapons, Mobile Armor Squadrons, prepare to launch, well, Hawk, ready to show we're still the threats they _thought _we were?"

"Ready when you are, Dragon," Mu replied. "Let's go show ZAFT just why they feared us so much!"

* * *

**Asteroid Field, ZAFT Ship **_**Nazca**_**-class **_**Vesalius**_

* * *

"We're reaching the time to launch our units, Commander," an officer reported to a blond haired, masked, white uniformed man.

"Very well," the man replied. "Have all units prepare to launch. I'll be launching, too - might as well get in a little target practice."

"Yessir," the ship's captain agreed. "Alert the pilots to standby for launch in their machines! They launch in twenty."

The commander, Rau le Creuset, smirked a bit as he made his way to the hangar. Soon, the explosives his infiltrators had placed would destroy the Earth Forces' new Warship, while the infiltrators themselves would capture their prototype Mobile Weapons. There shouldn't be _**much**_ damage to the colony, and he could always blame the damage on the Earth Forces, if there was.

All the while, he would continue moving pieces around the board, slowly driving the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators higher and higher… until they destroyed each other of their own volition.

He was soon in his custom colored CGUE that was moved into the launch catapult. "This is Rau le Creuset, CGUE, Launching!" he informed before he pushed the thrusters to the maximum, making the CGUE struggled against the launch cable before it snapped, sending it hurtling into space.

Around him were all the GiNNs from the _Vesalius_ and _Gamow_, some dozen Machines in total. More than enough to crush any resistance from local defenders.

Little did he know just how wrong he was, as around the Mobile Suit force four small camera's darted around by their own rockets, seemingly guided an unseen hand as they watched the Mobile Suit Forces.

* * *

**Universal Century, in Atmosphere near Axis**

* * *

"This Nu Gundam isn't just for show!" Amuro Ray, a young man in his twenties, shouted out as he guided his mobile suit, the RX-93 Nu Gundam, into pushing against the falling asteroid Axis.

It had been a massive battle between the Earth Federation's Londo Bell taskforce and Char Aznable's Neo Zeon forces, Neo Zeon attempting to drop the asteroid, Londo Bell trying to stop it.

In the end, they'd partially succeeded, blowing Axis into two pieces, but one piece was still falling, and large enough to cause significant damage.

So now, Amuro, down to only one Beam Saber for weapons and holding on to the captured escape pod of Char's MSN-04 Sazabi, was moving to shove the asteroid away from Earth.

"It is our job to show humanity the warmth of the human heart!" Amuro Ray shouted as he struggled with keeping the controls steady.

As Char and Amuro argued, the psycoframes in their respective cockpits resonating and putting out enormous energy and light, countless Mobile Suits, both Earth Federation and Neo Zeon, moved to try and assist, pushing their machines to the limit to try to stop the asteroid from falling.

"_For someone who says that, you were awfully cold to Quess!_" Char Aznable, a blond haired man with ice blue eyes, shouted back angrily.

"Give me a break, I'm a human being!" Amuro shouted, even as the other machines trying to help were picked up and moved aside and out of danger from the energy the psycoframes were putting out. "I couldn't serve as a surrogate father for her!" There was a brief pause, and then, "Was that the reason? Was that why you made Quess function like a machine?!"

Char sighed. "_Alright, so Quess was searching for a father figure,_" Char relented. "_Now I see why I found her so annoying, why I turned her into a machine_."

"I thought you would be more broad-minded!" Amuro chastised. "She was just confused!"

"_Lalah Sune was a young woman who may have very well been a mother to me!_" Char retorted. "_And you took away her life! So don't you dare judge me!_"

"Lalah? A _**mother?!**_" Amuro asked incredulously, before letting out a loud scream as the energy of the psycoframes enveloping them, and expanding out in a belt of light that surrounded the Earth, pulling Axis up into a more stable orbit.

As the two argued, the light continued to envelop the two of them, the phenomenon dragging the Asteroid out of the free fall and back into stable Orbit, however, as the light shone, the disappearance of the Nu Gundam and the cockpit for the MSN-04 Sazabi went completely unnoticed as the light consumed them.

* * *

**Unknown location**

* * *

"Wha… what's going on?" Amuro shouted as he looked around the cockpit at the blinding light surrounding him.

"_I will… I will… I WILL SURVIVE!_" A voice shouted out desperately, echoing through his mind.

"_We are not defined by our abilities alone!_" another voice shouted.

"_I will sever that distortion of yours!_" another echoed through him.

"_Amuro…_" this voice was female, and he recognized it instantly.

"Lalah?" Amuro called out. "Is that you? Lalah Sune?"

The spectral image of a middle-eastern girl in a yellow dress appeared before him. "_You have done great deeds, Amuro,_" she said. "_You have done so much, and you still have more to do… but what awaits you is no longer in the Universal Century… your time there is done…_"

"What do you mean 'my time is done'?" Amuro asked. "Am… I dead?"

"_No, you are not dead…_" Lalah replied. "_You are going to another time… another place… you are going to where you are needed most…_"

"Wha… what?" Amuro asked out in confusion. "Why? Why me? Why am I being sent to this place?"

"_Another world faces the fires of war…_" Lalah said to him. "_A world facing hatred greater than any experienced in the Universal Century…_"

"Another war?" Amuro asked, a pained expression on his face. "You want to throw me into _another _one? After everything I went through in this one?"

"_The world you are going to needs to be shown that the light of the human heart remains unchanged, regardless of the nature of one's birth…_" Lalah replied. "_Watch over the Valkyrie, Amuro… she will need your help to show that light…_"

"Lalah?" Amuro questioned as the spectre began to fade. "What do you mean? Who is the Valkyrie, LALAH!"

His shout, however, went unheeded as the spectre vanished completely and his mobile suit began to violently shake.

At the same time, the light around him began to fade, revealing he was still within the cockpit of the Nu Gundam.

Outside of the mobile suit was a completely different story, in front of him was a large cylindrical Colony whose design he'd never seen before with a large group of unfamiliar, mono-eyed, mobile suits bearing down on it.

"It almost looks like Side 7 again…" Amuro remarked, before frowning. "I won't let something like that happen again!"

As he began to move the Nu Gundam, one of the mono-eyed mobile suits spotted him and seemed to report his position as it and several others broke off and made a beeline for him, their assault rifles leveling at him.

"Well, they at least see me as a hostile, why I'm not sure," Amuro remarked as he looked over his controls. "Looks like all I have is a Beam Saber… well, I'll make do."

As Amuro drew out the Nu Gundam's beam saber the lead mobile suit opened up with it's assault rifle, firing projectiles at the Nu at about the same rate as the Zaku would.

Amuro easily dodged, his Newtype senses letting him react before the bullets fired, as he closed in faster than they could react and sliced off the arm holding the assault rifle.

The second one closed in holding a physical sword as it attempted to cut the Nu Gundam in half at the cockpit. Amuro blocked with his Beam Saber, the beam slicing through the metal blade like a hot knife through butter, before he sliced that machine's arm off, too.

As the other mobile suits began to circle the Nu Gundam warily Amuro let out a small breath. "It's like an adult beating children up," he said to himself. "And the children don't even realize it…"

Bracing himself he gunned the thrusters and started attacking the enemy mobile suits.

* * *

**With Ryu, in the cockpit of the GAT-X100 Dragon**

* * *

Ryu's eyebrow rose as he looked over the images that the four RT-Y00 'Farsight' DRAGOON Targeters were sending him, it was a primarily white mobile suit that looked a _lot _like his mobile suit, the GAT-X100 Dragon, developed by the now bankrupted Savant Heavy Industries, and the five other units being developed now by Morgenroete. "Hawk, I'm sighting a mobile suit fighting against ZAFT forces nearby, unknown, looks like a Gundam unit, though…" he reported as the shield of his mobile suit split open to reveal a large targeting camera and slid it onto the large rifle he was carrying, using it as a Bipod as he rested it on an unmoving asteroid. "You recognize it?"

"_Not really_," Mu replied. "_It's seriously kicking their butts, though… and is it just me, or are you feeling a sensation similar to what happens whenever we're in the same area as Rau le Creuset?_"

"Yup," Ryu agreed. "Marking him as an unknown third party for now, we got bigger problems to worry about right now, like Creuset and a dozen units bearing down on us."

"_Right,_" Mu replied. "_Let's show him what happens when people mess with our new home!_"

"Damn straight!" Ryu shouted out as he lined up a shot with the assistance of the DRAGOON Targeters. "Going live! All units, attack!"

Mu launched into the fray, his DRAGOON Beam Assault Units firing a series of rapid-fire beam blasts at the approaching GiNNs.

As Ryu fired a shot of his own, gutting a GiNN completely, a large group of Moebius Mobile Armors swept in from the flanks of the ZAFT forces, all of them flying in ORB's colors as they quickly tore through the formation before disappearing back into the Asteroid Field, allowing Ryu and Mu to get clear shots of the units.

Mu continued the assault with his DRAGOONs, adding a few blasts from his machine's Beam Rifle as well, as he took out three GiNNs at once.

"I Ain't letting you guys get into _my _Colony where _my _girlfriend lives, ASSHOLES!" Ryu shouted out as he nailed two mobile suits in a single shot.

Mu, meanwhile, had zeroed in on a CGUE painted in a familiar silver and white color scheme. "_So, taken to the field personally, have you, Creuset?_" he muttered, before unleashing his DRAGOONs on the CGUE.

"_Mu la Flaga, I see you've finally upgraded from your mobile armor!_" Rau called out mockingly. "_I didn't think the EA was that advanced that far yet!_"

"_You think I'm still fighting for the EA, you bastard?!_" Mu yelled out. "_You wish - I've got a new home now, and you're not invited in!_" He fired his Beam Rifle off along with a burst of rounds from his DRAGOONs.

"_What?_" Rau asked in surprise. "_What the hell?_"

"_Definitely need to thank the man who designed these,_" Mu remarked as he triggered another volley. "_They're even more effective than my old Gunbarrels!_"

Ryu snorted as he backed away from a GiNN that closed in on him with a sword, the chest compartments opened up to reveal an array of tubes that shot out a series of pellets, much like a Claymore. "I may be a sniper, but I am not defenseless up close!" he shouted out with grin.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, with Amuro**_

* * *

Amuro had just finished dealing with the Monoeye machines, by disarming them and forcing them to withdraw, when he felt a distinct flash across his senses - a flash he recognized all too well. "This feeling…" he whispered to himself. "Are there other Newtypes here?"

His gaze narrowed onto what seemed to be a pair of Gundam-types fighting side-by-side as they fought off the monoeye'd machines, one wielding a sniper rifle and the other a beam rifle with a series of some type of remote funnels.

"They're likely part of the colony's defense forces, if they're fighting these Zaku-like machines…" Amuro remarked. "Well, let's give them a hand." Turning towards that fight, he charged forward, Beam Saber drawn.

The sniper Gundam noticed him as he charged the monoeye'd machines and seemed to chose to ignore him for the time being at it set itself up into a sniping position once again, several moving dots caught Amuro's attention, zooming in he saw them to be a type of funnel with a camera attached to them, shortly before the sniper took a shot, destroying a mobile suit outside of even Amuro's visual range.

He immediately realized that the Sniper Machine must be using the Camera Funnels to increase its sight range, to hit targets even further away. That was rather impressive. Still, enough time to talk with him later - he needed to help fight this attack off for now.

Unknown to the three of them, a pair of black colored GiNNs slipped into the colony, having used their color to hide from the Gundam-Types and continued on.

* * *

_**Inside the Colony**_

* * *

Kagami typed furiously away at the terminal, every now and then bringing up a camera feed to see what was going on outside. Having recovered from her panic attack earlier, she was starting to get a bad feeling about the whole situation. And she definitely trusted her woman's intuition. "Kira-chan, how's the battle going on outside?"

"Fairly well, actually," she informed. "But.. there's a third Gundam-Type that joined them, no data on it in the records though…"

"A third one?" Kagami furrowed her brow in concentration. "No other nation should have gotten the technology for the Gundams ORB is developing, much less know about them… but it's not in the records? That doesn't sound right."

"Tell me about it," Kira growled. "Looks like the Sword and Hammer squads are engaging the infiltrators… hold on," she keyed the commset Ryu gave her. "Ghost Squadron, next bomb is Ventilation 4… access 3."

"_Ghost Squad, understood, thanks Overwatch,_" came the reply.

"Something doesn't feel right…" Kagami murmured as she brought up the specifications for the Nazca-class and Laurasia-class. "There aren't as many ZAFT mobile suits out there as they can actually field… Are they underarmed? No, it takes too much firepower to take on a colony for them to launch without a full complement. Unless… Kira-chan!"

Kira looked over to Kagami with a surprised expression. "Kagami-chan?" she questioned. "What's wrong?"

"Double-check and triple-check the camera feeds inside the colony, not just where you think the bombs are placed!" Kagami stopped her programming work and instead started pulling up the camera footage. "I think ZAFT managed to sneak in a few mobile suits!"

Kira frowned before calling up the camera feeds and searched through them. "Here!" Kira shouted. "Black colored GiNNs, just entered the Spaceport!"

"The Spaceport!? That's far too close!" Kagami gasped in horror as she pulled on a headset, tuning in to the frequency she knew Ryu used. "Ryu-kun, a pair of GiNNs got into the Spaceport!" the silverette practically shouted into the mike.

"_What!?_" Ryu shouted in return before letting out a string of curses. "_Dammit, I'm sorry to say this, you two, but… I am hereby ordering you two to use the Exodus and Black Frame to intercept the GiNNs!_"

Kagami froze and stared at the mobile suits standing upright in the docking stations before casting a hurried glance at Kira. "Ryu-kun are you sure? Neither of us have any actual fighting experience in mobile suits! There was that one time I borrowed the Dragon, but I didn't actually fight with it!"

"_I am _really _sorry to have to ask this of you, Kagami-chan, Kira,_" Ryu said, desperately apologetically. "_But you two are the only ones capable of piloting those mobile suits! Me and Mu are being swarmed by the ZAFT forces out here and two aces… if there was _any _other way…_"

Kagami sighed resignedly as she got up from her seat and nodded at Kira. "Kira-chan, you heard Ryu-kun. Although… Ryu-kun, you owe me a shopping trip for this," she smiled as she broke into a dash towards the Exodus.

Kira sighed. "I'll watch out for her, Ryu," she told the pilot who sighed in relief.

"_Thank you, Kira,_" he replied gratefully. "_I owe you one._"

"Kira-chan, we need to hurry up!" Kagami waved at Kira from the cockpit hatch of the Exodus. "Those GiNNs aren't gonna wait for us to blow them up!"

Kira sighed as she dashed for the cockpit of the Astray Gundam Black Frame and jumped in, quickly reconfiguring the Operating System she powered up the mobile suit. "All systems green," she informed as she checked the unit over. "How is yours, Kagami-chan?"

"Everything's checking out green," Kagami scanned the pre-flight checklist while tinkering away at the OS. "It's a good thing Ryu-kun had a fully-functional OS installed, I really, REALLY wouldn't have liked it if Kato's half-assed one was loaded on this machine. Just a few changes… and there!"

Kira took in a deep breath before grabbing the controls. "Right then, Kira Yamato, Astray Gundam Black Frame, Launching," she announced as the docking frame separated from the two suits and the launch doors above them opened allowing them to exit.

"Kagami Yukikaze, Exodus Gundam, taking off!" Kagami ramped the thrusters to max, taking off closely behind her best friend.

The two came out above the Base that was scrambling Anti-Suit Defenses, due to the base being the closest to the spaceport, they were in the direct path of the Black GiNNs. "This is… Ensign Kira Yamato and Ensign Hanami Yukikaze to Base Control, on the orders of Commander Hisanaga we have taken control of the MVF-P01 Astray Gundam Black Frame and MBF-P07 Exodus Gundam to intercept the two GiNNs that broke past the defensive line!" Kira reported as the two began to hover near the entrance/exit to the spaceport.

"_Understood, Ensigns,_" the Base Controller replied. "_We've got someone else sortieing to deal with them, as well._"

As if on cue, a Gundam rose out of the Morgenroete Facilities, its Phase Shift Armor coming online and coloring the unit a dark blue, with a black torso and trim. It had two Beam Boomerangs mounted on its shoulders, two Beam Sabers on the back-mounted Flight Unit, a Long Sword/Short Sword set on its hips, and what looked like a Giant Switchblade weapon with a small buckler shield on the right arm, along with the larger shield on the left arm. Emblazoned on its left shoulder was the insignia for Terminal, while the right shoulder had a Katana imposed over a blue Whirlwind.

Kira looked over at the unit and switched to the tight band frequency. "Unknown Mobile Suit, this is Ensign Kira Yamato and Hanami Yukikaze with the ORB Forces," she called out. "You are?"

The next thing she heard was a masculine sigh. A _**very familiar**_ masculine sigh. "_Dammit…_" he muttered. "_Of all the things that could happen…_" There was a pause, and then he continued, "_This is Terminal Agent Takeshi Yamato. I was hired to keep the main G-Project safe until the products of said project were delivered to their final destination._"

"TAKESHI!" Kira screeched out in shock. "THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS TRIP!?"

"_We can talk later, Imouto,_" Takeshi replied. "_Once this battle is over, I'll tell you everything I know._" He paused again. "_And… for what it's worth… I'm sorry for hiding my status as a Terminal Agent from you - I only did it because I didn't want you getting involved in this life._"

"Oh, it's the siscon," Kagami commented off-handedly as she flew up beside Kira. "You know Kira is going to prank you to hell for this later on right?"

"_Be quiet, Kagami,_" Takeshi replied annoyedly. "_I know that, but the life of a Terminal Agent is constantly fraught with peril - I wanted Kira to be able to live a peaceful life, without needing to worry about me!_"

"Dammit Take-nii, my best friend is the girlfriend of the local Base Commander!" she shouted out. "Hell, he even admitted to wanting to scout me for the military! My life with Hanami/Kagami _alone _is anything _but _peaceful!"

Takeshi sighed. "_I… I just didn't want you to be dragged into the war, Imouto,_" he muttered. "_War… tends to bring out the worst in people at some point or another. I didn't want you to experience it happening to someone else… or have it happen to you._"

Kira growled angrily at her brother before an alert informed her of the presence of the two GiNNs. "We'll talk later!" she informed her brother. "C'mon, Kagami-chan!"

"Right, Kira-chan!" Kagami nodded, retrieving a Beam Multi-Rifle from one of the Exodus's weapon hangers.

Takeshi also turned his Gundam to face the incoming GiNNs, his switchblade weapon moving to the active position. "_I'll help you out,_" he said. "_I'm actually one of Terminal's more successful aces, the Azure Tempest - time for me to show why I earned that title!_"

Kira ignored her brother for the time being as she and Kagami charged one of the two approaching GiNNs, Takeshi moving to intercept the other one. Quickly scrolling through her weapons she selected the Type 74 Dual Barreled Beam Sub Machine gun and took aim at the GiNN before firing, sending a stream of small bolts of green energy at the GiNN as it maneuvered away until the weapon clicked empty. "What? Clip fed beam weapons?" Kira asked in surprise. "Kagami-chan, cover me as I try and figure out how to reload!"

"Look on the bright side, they don't put as much stress on our units' batteries," Kagami fired a burst of green energy rounds at the approaching GiNN, not really aiming to hit it, but rather to push it away. The GiNN responded by firing back, but the Exodus's large shield easily deflected all of the comparatively puny machine gun round.

Meanwhile, the other Black GiNN had drawn its sword and charged at Takeshi's Gundam, only for his switchblade weapon to block the blade, and even carved through the GiNN's weapon, followed up by bisecting the GiNN itself right down the middle.

"Got it!" Kira shouted as her weapon was reloaded with a fresh clip and she flew towards the GiNN, her submachine gun firing away. "Flank him, Kagami-chan!"

"Right!" the silverette fired up the extra thrusters on her shield, jetted around behind the enemy mobile suit and plowed the end of the not-so-defensive equipment into its shoulder, ripping it off.

As the GiNN spun from the impact, several of Kira's shot's impacted against the mobile suit, piercing into its Ultracompact Energy Battery and setting off a chain reaction as it exploded with tremendous force. "Nice job, Kagami-chan!" Kira whooped as she boosted her suit over to Kagami's.

"Nice teamwork!" Kagami flashed Kira a thumbs up on the video communications, grinning widely. "Anything else on the sensors?"

Kira took a quick look before shaking her head. "Not that I can see…" she quickly made a link to the Terminal she had been working on and used it as a link to check the camera feeds. "But Sword and Hammer Squads may need some assistance with suppressing the on foot infiltrators."

"_What's the overall situation?_" Takeshi asked. "_I need to know whether I need to help with protecting the prototypes, or if I'm needed outside._"

"Well if your prototypes are near the Morgenroete University Factory, then I would say that the infiltrators are after them," Kira informed sharply, having not quite forgiven her brother yet. "And those idiots you're with are trying to move them now."

"Idiots? More like unicellular organisms!" Kagami groaned. "Moving them is the worst thing they could possibly do while under siege! It's like dunking themselves in bright neon pink paint!"

"_R-right,_" Takeshi replied, really hoping Kira would be able to forgive him for keeping his status from her soon. "_I'll move to support them._"

Kira sighed. "Kagami-chan and I are heading there as well," she informed. "I'd rather not have my home destroyed because of something that ranks lower than idiot on the idiot scale…"

* * *

**END CHAPTER!**

* * *

**Custom Mobile Suits**

**Model Number**: GAT-X100 Dragon Gundam  
**Unit Type**: Experimental Newtype Sniper-use Mobile Suit  
**Powerplant**: Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Manufacture: **Savant Heavy Industries  
**Operator(s): **Earth Alliance, ORB  
**Equipment and Design Features**:  
Lightweight Titanium-Carbonite Armor  
**I**mpulse **T**hruster **F**light (**I.T.H**) Pack  
DRAGOON Control Unit  
Sniping Control Unit  
**Fixed Armament**:  
4x 60mm Anti-Missile Vulcans, two mounted on each wrist  
2x 75mm Auto Cannons, mounted in the shoulders  
2x Beam Sabers, stored in forearm, hand carried in use  
2x 200mm Impulse Beam Cannons, mounted in Impulse Thruster Flight pack, deployed under shoulders in use  
Claymore Launcher, mounted in chest  
4x RT-Y00 'Farsight' DRAGOON Targeters, mounted on **I.T.H, **Deployed in use, relays targeting data to the Dragon  
**Optional Armaments: **  
PBW-S33 'Archer' Experimental Extreme Range Particle Beam Sniper Rifle, hand carried in use  
HPR-S22 'Slingshot' High Powered Extreme Range Sniping Railgun  
Shield with Sensor Units Mounted onto it, shield splits open when sniping, revealing sensors and attaches to either Sniper Rifle, acting as the Rifle's Bipod  
**Pilot(s)**: Ryu Hisanaga  
**Appearance**: Has the head of the Nu Gundam, torso of the Buster Gundam with the shoulders of the Blitz Gundam, arms and legs are similar to that of the Hyaku Shiki's while the **I.T.H** looks like the Ootori Striker Pack  
**Colors**: Colored Dark Brown with a black chest and DRAGOON Units and red trim  
**Info**: The GAT-X100 Dragon Gundam is considered to be the predecessor of the G-Weapons later produced by Morgenroete. Developed by Anaheim Electronics for the use of the Coordinator Ace Pilot of the Earth Alliance, Ryu Hisanaga, after the destruction of the X after the Battle of Endymion, while it had only been deployed once for the Earth Alliance, during the Battle of Junius Seven, where it showed amazing Performance as it acted in support to his wingman, Mu La Flaga and his Custom Moebius Zero. Armored with Lightweight Titanium-Carbonite Armor that is capable of taking several hits before being breached, in addition it is armed with prototype DRAGOON 'Targeters', units that are capable of relaying targeting information to the Dragon from long ranges allowing for precision sniping.

**Model Number**: MBF-P07 Exodus Gundam  
**Unit Type**: Prototype Multipurpose Modular Mobile Suit  
**Powerplant**: Ultracompact Energy Battery (removable)  
**Manufacture: **Morgenroete  
**Operator(s): **ORB  
**Equipment and Design Features**:  
Laminated Pot Metal Armour  
Hardpoint System  
Weapon Hanger System  
Field-replaceable Energy Battery  
**Fixed Armament**:  
4x Beam Sabers  
2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-barrel Anti Air CIWS  
**Optional Armaments:  
**1x 57mm Beam Multi-Rifle, can add several different add-ons to change role  
- Sniper Rifle (barrel) + Extended Stock (stock) + Long-Range Radar Scope, requires free arm hardpoint. Can fire either physical ammunition (more stealthy) or beams. Silenced too.  
- Beam Gatling (barrel) + Liquid Cooling (stock), requires nearby water source, includes pipes.  
- Beam Bayonet (underbarrel)  
- Physical Shotgun (underbarrel)  
- Physical 152mm High-Velocity Cannon (underbarrel), cannot be fired on the move  
1x 'Atlas' High-Density Beam Rifle/120mm Linear Cannon/Anti-ship Sword  
1x Revolver Bazooka  
(Numbers not stated due to versatility of Hardpoint and Weapon Hanger system)  
2x Arm Hardpoints:  
- Ram Shield w/ Ion Field Generator  
- Extra Beam Saber Wrist Mount  
- 'Sin' Anti-Ship Sword  
- Sniper Rifle extra power feed  
2x Rear Hardpoints:  
- Cargo Container/Missile Launcher (carries add-ons for the Beam Multi-Rifle and/or extra batteries, can also fire torpedoes)  
- Cargo Container (pure cargo, no extra missile launcher on top - Hanami uses this to carry trap materials around too)  
- Weapon Hanger (for carrying extra weapons)  
- 'Avenger III' 50mm beam gatling  
- 'Equus' Energy Leech Harpoon  
Note: Cargo containers can be launched into the battlefield using cruise missiles for long-range resupply.  
1x Backpack Hardpoint:  
- Ion Lifter Backpack  
- Heavy Weapons Backpack (1x Heavy Weapons Hardpoint, replaces standard rear hardpoints)  
- Dual 100mm Gatling Gun  
- 'Longinus' Ion Cannon  
- 'Schlagen Kanone' 450mm Siege Howitzer  
- MLRS  
- 'Agni' 320mm Hyper Impulse Beam Cannon (from Launcher Strike)  
- Multipurpose Backpack (adds 4x extra rear hardpoints, but combined with the ability to fire weapons from the weapon hanger can make the Exodus capable of fighting enemies in all directions around it. Burns through energy like mad though when firing beams)  
- Turbines w/ torpedo launchers (for underwater combat)  
- Stealth Cloak - a net that can change camouflage patterns for use on any terrain. Also disrupts electronic sensors. Looks like a mobile suit-sized ghillie suit when deployed.  
- Mirage Colloid Backpack (used less often than the Stealth Cloak due to high energy consumption)  
**Pilot(s)**: Hanami Yukikaze / Kagami  
**Appearance**: http:/arkhonus.deviantart.com/art/Exodus-Gundam-Backpack-attached-405210549?q=gallery%3AArkhonus&qo=3  
Since AstralXYZ doesn't know how to texture yet (those are just simple, temporary colours) it's supposed to be mostly silver with black joints and highlights. The eyes are green, and the V-fin is the usual yellow.  
**Info**: A mobile suit designed by Morgenroete around the idea of interchangeable modules to tailor the suit to very specific battlefield conditions and the ability to operate independently deep within enemy territory for extended hours. The Exodus features a unique Beam Multi-Rifle capable of changing from a normal beam rifle to a sniper rifle or even a heavy assault gatling gun simply by swapping gun parts in the heat of battle if necessary, and also a shield with built-in thrusters designed specially for ramming. The suit is also capable of changing its own battery by running on a backup activated only when the main battery runs out and is ejected.

**Model Number**: MVF-P01 Gundam Astray Black Frame  
**Unit Type**: Prototype Transformable High Performance Mobile Suit  
**Powerplant**: Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Manufacture:** Morgenroete  
**Operator(s):** ORB  
**Equipment and Design Features**:  
Mirage Colloid Propulsion System  
Titanium-Carbonite Armor  
5x Battery Extenders, loaded on wings  
**Fixed Armament**:  
M3M4F 25mm CIWS, mounted in head  
M4M7A 50mm CIWS, mounted in wings, usable in MA form, loaded with High Explosive Ammo  
2x Beam Sabers, mounted in waist, Hand Carried in use  
2x Type 72 High Energy Beam Cannon, mounted on wings, deployed under arms in use in MS mode, mounted on Wings in MA Mode  
**Optional Armaments:**  
Type 74 Dual Barreled Beam Submachine Gun, clip fed, 20 shots per clip Hand carried in use, mounted on nose in MA mode, additional clips loaded into shield  
Aerodynamic Shield  
**Pilot(s)**: Kira Yamato  
**Appearance**: Looks like the Murasame with the head and chest of the Gundam Astray Units and the Oowashi backpack with foldable wings instead of the regular Murasame Wings, shares the same color scheme as the other Gundam Astrays with black replacing their titular color  
**Info**: The Sixth Gundam Astray Mobile Suit built by Morgenroete alongside the G-Weapons, the Black Frame was constructed to test the limits of transformation capabilities and the experimental Mirage Colloid Propulsion System. While in normal operation, the MCPS is capable of double the normal speed of regular thrusters, but at a greater cost of energy, leading to the addition of several disposable battery extenders to being added, especially with two High Energy Beam Cannons. When the MCPS is put into 'Full Release Mode' it will triple the units max speed and maneuverability at the cost of an even greater drain to the battery supply, unlike the other Astray Units the Black Frame is armored with the same Titanium-Carbonite mix as the Dragon, making it more durable than the others..

**Model Number**: MDF-P00 Astray Gundam Zero  
**Unit Type**: Prototype DRAGOON-Use Mobile Suit  
**Powerplant**: Ultracompact Energy Battery  
**Manufacture:** Morgenroete  
**Operator(s):** ORB  
**Equipment and Design Features**:  
Reinforced Foam Metal Armor  
DRAGOON Control System  
**Fixed Armament**:  
2x 55mm Anti-Missile Vulcans, mounted in head  
**Optional Armaments:**  
_DRAGOON Equipment, can deploy a maximum of four from the following_  
DRAGOON Beam Assault Units, mounted on back, deployed in Use  
DRAGOON Fang Bit Units, four per unit, mounted on back, deployed in use  
DRAGOON Beam Cannon, mounted on back, deployed in use  
Type 71 Beam Rifle  
Anti-Beam Shield with Beam saber mounted on underside  
**Pilot(s)**: Mu La Flaga  
**Appearance**: Looks like an Astray Gundam with an orange color  
**Info**: ORBs first DRAGOON-Use mobile suit to be developed for the use of the former Earth Alliance Zero Corps pilot Mu La Flaga who defected to ORB alongside Ryu Hisanaga following the nuking of Junius Seven. The Astray Gundam Zero is capable of loading up to four separate DRAGOON units onto it's back before deploying, the options being Beam Assault units, Fang Bit Units - that contain four 'Fangs' per pod, and a Beam Cannon Unit.


	2. Chapter 2: Lost Home

Disclaimer: None of us own Gundam SEED. Goddamn Sunrise… Furthermore, any franchises that make cameos here belong to their respective owners.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Radio"_

Chapter Two: Lost Home

* * *

_**Outside of **_**Heliopolis**_**, Cockpit of the Dragon**_

* * *

"Sit still, you blond asshole!" Ryu shouted to Rau as the blonde moved out of the way of his sniper shot before dodging a series of shots from Mu's DRAGOON Unit, the unknown white suit charged in, carving off a section of Rau's CGUE Shoulder armor before the white coat commander could boost away.

The unknown white suit then approached the Dragon, its free hand making contact with the Dragon's shoulder. "_You're pretty good with those Funnels of yours,_" came a male voice from the unknown suit, using a contact link due to neither knowing the other's comm frequency.

Ryu rose his eyebrow slightly. "Funnels?" he questioned for a moment. "Ah, the DRAGOON units, you're not bad for only having a beam saber."

"_Thanks,_" the unknown pilot replied. "_Name's Amuro, but we can worry about official introductions later - I'm not letting anyone attack neutral colonies again!_"

Ryu grinned slightly at that declaration. "I'm Ryu, my wingman is Mu," he informed. "Speaking of, Hawk, can you keep Creuset occupied? I wanna hit the ships directly!"

"_I'm on it!_" Mu replied, releasing his DRAGOON Units again, bombarding the CGUE with fire from all directions.

"Relocating!" Ryu announced as the Impulse Thruster Pack ignited, sending him flying into the debris. "If you want to, help out Mu, Amuro!"

Amuro's machine seemed to nod, before he turned around and launched at the CGUE, Beam Saber brandished once again.

Getting far enough from the battle between the three machines Ryu positioned the Dragon behind a rather large depleted asteroid and set up his tripod sniper shield and rifle before once again deploying his DRAGOON Targeters to increase the sniping range so that he could hit the two ships. Taking careful breaths as he brought down the sniping control unit and began to line up the shot Ryu steadied himself, a few seconds later he pulled the trigger, launching a blast of green energy that speared the _Nazca_-class through the portside engines before doing the same for the _Laurasia_-class and began to target their weapons.

* * *

_**Inside **_**Heliopolis**

* * *

Back inside the Colony, the Black Frame, Exodus, and Tempest Gundams had arrived near where the infiltrators were still fighting to get to the Prototypes.

"_Damn, gotta give them points for persistence, eh, Kagami-chan?_" Kira asked over the radio as she flew overhead, recently discovering the switch to change the Astray Black Frame into it's mobile armor form.

"Tell me about it. They've got half the colony's garrison fighting back against them and they still haven't aborted yet," Kagami agreed, glancing at the weapon controls for the Exodus Gundam's rear weapons hangers after having pilfered a pair of machine gun off the GINNs they had taken down earlier. "This should be easy, right? They can't really stand a chance against mobile suits while on foot."

"_Not really, considering they're only armed with lightweight assault weapons and grenades,_" Kira commented. "_And we're… well… flying machines of death._"

"Umm, I hate to say this, but what are the chances of them killing themselves like in some of those movies?" the silverette grimaced. "After all, ZAFT isn't going to want to be found responsible for attacking a neutral colony."

"_I have no clue, to be honest, hell, they probably thought they could get away with placing the blame on OMNI for building those damned things here!_" Kira shouted. "_Take-nii, _that _part is what _really _irks me for you not telling! I was making them their goddamned OS!_"

"…_Sorry about that, Imouto,_" Takeshi remarked. "_When I was hired to escort the prototypes, I had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement - couldn't talk to anyone not already in the know about it._"

"_Still, they had me, a _civilian, _and sometimes part-time ORB Ensign, working on their Operating System for their machines!_" Kira shouted. "_SO FUCK NONDISCLOSURE!_"

"Seconded, and I say we bump up the severity of Kato-baka's punishment," Kagami agreed, clenching her fist at the thought of the so-called professor.

"_Let's sic your boyfriend on him,_" Kira said, her eyebrow twitching. "_Let's just round up these idiots first, though…_"

"_I'll attract their attention,_" Takeshi said, before triggering a burst of CIWS fire from his head-mounted vulcans, peppering the ground around the Infiltrators and causing them to look up at the approaching machines.

"_Oh you have _got _to be kidding me!_" one of the Infiltrators shouted out, the audio reception of their units picking up the voice. "_Are they finished with the Calibrations yet?_"

"_I think they're getting close, at least,_" another Infiltrator replied. "_They'd better hurry, though!_"

"_Dammit, Black Frame, Exodus!_" Hammer lead called in. "_ZAFT Infiltrators managed to get ahold of the G-Weapons and get into the hangar with the last two!_"

"_Dammit,_" Takeshi muttered. "_Well, at least we can keep them from stealing the last two…_"

"_Take-nii, you deal with it!_" Kira shouted. "_Kagami-chan and I will deal with these ones!_"

"_Right… good luck, Imouto!_" Takeshi called out as he moved the Tempest over towards the last hangar.

"_Uh oh…_" Kira murmured as she spotted the three G-Weapons beginning to rise out of their trailers. "_Not good!_"

"What do we do now?" Kagami stared at the stolen units as they shifted from their original grey colour scheme to their individual ones, signalling the activation of their Phase Shift armour. "We aren't going to be able to get them back easily now…"

"_Gut them for all I care!_" Kira shouted. "_I'm just too pissed off with OMNI _and _ZAFT to give a flying fuck!_"

"Language, language, Kira-chan," Kagami chided as her Exodus landed on top of one of the G-Weapons, knocking it to the ground. "We might still be able to knock their pilots out before they can fix that OS - they're probably still running Kato's half-assed one."

"_Like I care!_" Kira shouted as she fired the wing mounted 50mm CIWS peppering the black unit with explosive rounds. "_I'm pissed like I'm on my MENSTRUAL CYCLE!_"

The silverette rolled her eyes as she back stepped out of the way of a hail of shotgun shells from the beige one, forcing her to allow the blue and white one to get up. She fired several rounds from the machine gun on her weapon hanger at the latter, forcing it back down, although the shells did no noticeable damage. "Argh, forgot physical weapons don't work against Phase Shift armour."

"_I noticed!_" Kira shouted as she transformed into the mobile suit mode and fired several rounds from the beam submachine gun into the beige machine. "_Damn, Morgenroete does good work!_"

"No sense carrying this around if it's useless against them," Kagami ejected the machine guns and drew a beam saber, dual-wielding it with her beam rifle with her shield arm. "Time to take out these idiots for ruining that tender moment I had with Ryu-kun just now…"

"_Damn, this submachine guns fires fast… but dammit it's not enough damage!_" Kira shouted angrily as her shots did surface damage to the black unit's shield before reloading her weapon and drawing a beam saber. "_Get over here you black bastard!_"

"Of course it doesn't do much, it's a submachine gun, Kira-chan," the silverette pointed out, cheerfully sidestepping a beam saber from the blue and white one, putting it in between herself and the beige gunner so the latter couldn't fire without hitting his own ally. A slash from her beam saber, boosted by the thrusters on her shield, managed to force the former to its knees as it blocked with its shield.

Kira flew at the black mobile suit, delivering a thruster empowered thrust, forcing it to fall back against the beige one, sending them falling. "_TIMBER MOTHERFUCKER!_" Kira whooped as she landed her unit. "_Who's got this? We got this!_"

"_Imouto, Hanami-san, we've got good news, bad news, and complicated news,_" Takeshi piped in. "_Good news - the last of the five Prototypes, the Strike, is still out of ZAFT hands. Bad news - ZAFT managed to get the Aegis, so they have four out of five._"

"_And the complicated news?_" Kira asked, worrying her lip slightly.

"_From what I can see in the cockpit monitors, we've got Cagalli Yula Attha as a passenger in the Strike,_" Takeshi replied. "_Not sure what she's doing up here on Heliopolis, but still…_"

"Cagalli Yula Attha!? As in the ORB Princess?" Kagami gasped in surprise. "It'll be really bad if she gets offed by ZAFT, won't it?"

"_Yeah, it will,_" Takeshi replied. "_She's not wanting to get into a shelter, though. Whatever you do, don't let anything with Beam Weapons take a shot at the Strike!_"

"_Well that's just great then!_" Kira announced sarcastically. "_Whoa, what's the beige one doing?_"

The Beige one she was asking about seemed to combine his two separate weapons into a single long cannon and take aim at the aerial Kira.

"_Watch out, Imouto!_" Takeshi called out. "_The Buster's an artillery model - its weapons can combine into a Hyper-Impulse Long-Range Sniper Rifle or Anti-Armor Shotgun!_"

"_FUCK!_" Kira shouted at the Buster fired off a single shell that she dodged, and sailed right towards the central shaft. "_Oh dear god…_"

"_Oh, jeez,_" Takeshi remarked, seeing the shot moving. "_That doesn't seem like a good sign…_"

"I completely agree," Kagami groaned. "That idiot… did he just discover the switch for that and decide to use it in a panic?"

"_This is Ensign Kira Yamato of ORB!_" Kira shouted out over an open channel as the shell hit the colony's central shaft, causing critical damage. "_GET TO A SHELTER! CENTRAL SHAFT HAS BEEN HIT! REPEAT: CENTRAL SHAFT HAS BEEN HIT!_"

"Ara ara, now you've done it…" Kagami sighed as killing intent started to permeate the air.

"_Kagami-chan, let slip the demonic mask,_" Kira said in all to calm voice. "_I want to _slaughter _these idiots!_"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the silverette replied nonchalantly even as a gigantic mechanical version of her patented Noh mask formed in the air behind her mobile suit, complete with even glowing red versions of the Exodus' eye sensors.

Kira grinned viciously as the three units froze. "_Sure you don't, Kagami-chan, sure you don't,_" she informed as she charged the black one with her beam saber, cutting the legs off before damaging the thrusters, crippling the machine's ability to move.

Something snapped the two machines out of their fear as they seemed to reluctantly leave as the Colony began to buck as the Central Shaft's own rotation tore itself apart.

"_Oh, dammit!_" Takeshi called out, even as cracks began to form on the colony walls. "_This is _**NOT**_ good!_"

"_Tell me something I don't know!_" Kira shouted as she grabbed a hold of their captive and pulled them towards the center where the G-Forces were lessened. "_Brace for explosive decompression!_"

The cracks broke open, and air began rushing out as the colony broke apart around them. Takeshi's machine was built for high speed, so the thrusters were capable of resisting the turbulence, and allowed him to get to Kira's side.

"_Come on, Kagami-chan!_" Kira shouted out to her friend. "_Get to the center!_"

Kagami used her shield as an extra booster to reach the center of the colony, putting her rifle on one of her weapon hangers and grabbing hold onto part of the central shaft. "Bunch of idiots!" she slammed her fist on her armrest.

"_KAGAMI-CHAN!_" Ryu shouted out over the radio as he saw the entire colony shudder from the outside. "_What's going on? Are you alright?_"

"I'm alright, the idiot in the Buster went and tested his gun on the central shaft," Kagami complained, massaging her head. "The colony's going to shake itself apart soon… and we won't be able to stop it. Damn it!"

"_FUCK!_" Ryu shouted. "_Mu! Amuro! Get away from the Colony, it's falling apart! Kagami-chan, Kira, hold on I'm coming!_"

"_Dammit,_" muttered an unknown male voice that was likely the 'Amuro' that Ryu had mentioned. "_I can't believe this is happening…_"

"_Stick close to the center!_" Ryu ordered. "_I'll be initiating the purge! It should reduce the damage to the shelters!_"

"Hanami's not going to be happy when she comes back out…" Kagami muttered as she tightened her grip on her controls. "How are we going to explain it to her?"

"_I don't know, Kagami-chan…_" Kira said with a sad sigh. "_I really don't know…_"

"_Purging is initiated, all range distress beacons deployed!_" Ryu announced. "_Shelters launched!_"

"_Well, that will probably get the civilians to safety…_" Takeshi remarked. "_Main problem is _**we're**_ going to need transport… I hope the _Archangel _survived…_"

"_I could care less about the Earth Alliance ship right now,_" Kira informed. "_Takeshi… our home is _gone."

"_I know…_" Takeshi replied. "_…but we can grieve for it later - right now, we need to worry about being able to get out of here, and short of hijacking one of the ZAFT ships, the _Archangel_ is our best bet._"

"_Takeshi Yamato,_" Ryu said, interrupting the conversation. "_ORB will be taking control of the _Archangel, _I hope you don't plan on interfering with that._"

Takeshi sighed. "_Given the total fiasco that has emerged, with several prototypes stolen by ZAFT and Cagalli Yula Attha as a passenger in the Strike, not to mention the destruction of the colony, I could likely declare default on the contract with the EA without too much flak,_" he remarked.

"_Good, I would hate to be forced to kill my girlfriend's best friend's brother,_" Ryu informed. "_Lady Attha, do you read me?_"

"_Dammit!_" came what was likely Cagalli's voice. "_I'm having trouble just moving around, let alone keeping this thing stable! The OS is atrocious - I'm surprised the woman who shoved me in here was able to control it at all before she got knocked out when the colony started coming apart!_"

"_Open your wireless options and put in router IP:998635 in allowed access,_" Kira informed brusquely. "_Updating OS… it's a patch job, but you should be able to move now, Lady Attha._"

A brief pause, then, "_Thanks… moving a bit better now. Still unable to do much more than keep myself stable, though - I think the thrusters on this thing aren't all that strong._"

"_Looking at the data of the Strike now, fuck the EA MIB, the Strike is a Multi-mode Unit, it has a flight pack, looks like the packs were loaded onto the _Archangel," Kira informed. "_I'm also hacking into the _Archangel's _systems, Take, did _you _provide them with a copy of the Electronic Security Program I gave you?_"

"_Y… yeah…_" Takeshi replied, still a bit nervous as to her reaction. "_They wanted the best security systems, and that thing is the best system I've seen so far._"

"_Not sure if I should be angry or thankful, they never even noticed the back door in it, hell… did they even _look _at it?_" Kira questioned. "_I was able to get in without any trouble whatsoever and the ship is now controlled with my console… wow is that sad for them…_"

"_Shoulda known you'd put in a back door for if you needed to get in in a hurry,_" Takeshi remarked with a sigh. "_Well, probably won't be able to do much until everything finally settles down…_"

"_Kagami-chan,_" Ryu called out. "_Are you alright?_"

"Been better," a sad Kagami replied. "Our home, Ryu-kun… it's gone…"

"_I know, Kagami-chan,_" Ryu informed. "_Good news though, I'm getting reports that 99% of the civilians made it out…_"

"_Good to hear…_" Takeshi remarked. "_I'm glad that so many of them managed to get to the shelters…_"

"That's still 1% unaccounted for… I wish we could've done more," the silverette sighed again, but then turned the Exodus' glare right towards the black mobile suit Kira had disabled and captured. "At least we get to grill someone for answers…" she added as her Noh mask formed again, turning its full might on her target.

"_Kagami-chan, wait,_" Ryu said softly. "_Wait until we're aboard the _Archangel, I _will interrogate him, sorry, but there are _very _specific rules to the treatment of POW's._"

"Killjoy," Kagami complained, but dropped the subject anyway while dissipating the mask. "So Kira-chan, where is the ship in question anyway?"

"_Well, let's see, no cameras are accessible, no surprise, getting a GPS ping, heading is that way declination… 33 degrees,_" Kira reported as she pointed. "_Lady Attha is between us and the _Archangel."

The winds were starting to die down, at least to the point where Ryu's machine could enter without spending most of its thrust countering the outrushing wind. He was joined by what looked very much like a Gundam, and yet also different from any of the G-Weapons.

"_Ryu…_" Takeshi began, "_What's that machine with you?_"

"_Unknown, came to our assistance in the battle,_" Ryu informed. "_Given the situation, I decided not question too deeply._"

"_Alright,_" Takeshi replied. "_I think we might need to hear his story once we're parked, though._"

"_Agreed,_" Ryu commented as the last of the colony purged itself. "_Right, everyone, rendezvous at the _Archangel, _Kira, have it launch a beacon for Mu and Amuro to find._"

"_Alright,_" Kira replied, soon enough a pinging began appearing in their radar screens, indicating the beacon.

"_Looks to be intact,_" Ryu announced as he arrived at the location of the _Archangel. _"_Some people on the bridge, I think they're trying to regain control, but other than that, no action._"

"_Given Kira's programs, I'd say good luck at regaining control from her,_" Takeshi remarked. "_Well, Ryu, you mind informing them of the situation?_"

"_Kira, patch me through to their comms,_" Ryu ordered, when given the signal he began speaking. "_Attention _Archangel, _this is Commander Ryu Hisanaga of the ORB forces, we have taken control of your ship, it is now ORB property, at this time you have one of two choices, surrender, or die by vacuum._"

"_We can do that easily, too,_" Kira replied. "_If you're wondering, I personally designed the security systems you installed on that ship - it'd be easy to just open all your hatches at once, then close them and repressurize once you'd been removed._"

"_We… understand,"_ the person on the other end of the line informed. "_Our security forces are standing by…_"

"_Have them lock their weapons in the armory,_" Ryu ordered. "_Kira, ensure they do that._"

"_Got it,_" Kira replied.

"_Alright everyone, prepare to board, I also have the surviving military personnel meeting us here,_" Ryu informed. "_We're taking this ship over._"

"_Gotcha,_" Takeshi replied.

"_Roger that,_" Amuro added.

"Let's get going then," Kagami nodded.

As soon as the ten shuttles holding assorted security personnel before Kira opened the hangers, allowing them inside. "_Alright everyone, keep alert, Kira, Kagami-chan,_" Ryu said getting their attention. "_I'll need the two of you to ensure they're not trying everything over the cameras._"

"Kira-chan, let me in," the silverette brought up her keyboard and started typing away. "Yup, I see them. I'll take the security forces, Kira-chan, can you keep an eye on the bridge crew?"

"_Not a problem,_" Kira informed. "_I'm having fun watching them trying to hack my programs._"

Kagami rolled her eyes in response as she brought up a view of the bridge on one of her screens. "That's actually pretty funny," she remarked, watching two of them furiously typing away at a pair of terminals while practically being spammed by error messages. One of them suddenly backed away from her terminal in surprise when a chibi image of Kira popped up on the screen sticking out her tongue at them.

"_Oh this is so much fun,_" Kira said as she giggled. "_Wonder if any of them will open the scream clip…_" a second later a loud scream screeched out over the bridge speakers shocking those on it. "_And they did it._"

Takeshi was laughing. "_You are constantly outdoing yourself, Imouto,_" he remarked. "_What else do you have up your sleeve for them?_"

Kira grinned. "_Hey, watch that frigid bitch from the terminal earlier today, she's about to trip one of my more… _vindictive_ ones,_" she informed as suddenly a vid appeared on the woman's screen of two fat men going at it.

"Kira-chan… only you would think of trolling military officers with that stuff…" Kagami laughed as the woman broke her stoic character, covered her eyes and ran the hell away from the terminal screaming, startling the rest of the crew on the bridge. "Aaaaand blackmail material obtained!" she hit the 'stop' button on her video recording program.

"_I just hope we can find her a decent boyfriend… or girlfriend, if she swings that way,_" Takeshi remarked. "_That woman _**seriously**_ needs to get laid!_"

Kira simply laughed hysterically in her cockpit. "_That… that was… awesome…_" she said between her bouts of laughter.

"Well, I'm sure we could 'accidentally' lock her in a room with some other guy after we take over the ship," Kagami chuckled, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"_HA!_" Kira barked out. "_That'll be too easy to do, but who should we lock her in with?_"

"Any ideas, Takeshi-san?" the silverette asked the elder Yamato.

"_About the only guy I can think of is Arnold Neumann,_" Takeshi remarked. "_I think he might have feelings for her, but won't outright say anything. We could try it, though, see what happens._"

Kira cracked madly. "_Oh, lookie here, Ryu and Mu are arriving on the bridge,_" she announced. "This _will be interesting._"

"_Patch me in, will you, Imouto?_" Takeshi asked. "_I want to watch!_"

Kira giggled as she patched the Tempest into the video link, just in time as Ryu strode in with Mu and five fully armed ORB soldiers. "_Well, Ensign Badgiruel,_" Ryu announced as he walked in. "_Been a while, Grimaldi Front was the last posting, wasn't it?_"

"_H-Hisanaga!_" Natarle replied in shock.

"Ara? They know each other?" Kagami raised an eyebrow.

"_Well, I see your choice for rank over a certain pilot has served you well, look at where it got you,_" Ryu announced sarcastically. "_So, listen up, _I _am now in charge of this vessel, it now belongs to ORB, any questions?_"

"Rank over a certain pilot…?" Kagami's eyes narrowed. "Ryu-kun did tell me about him having an ex-girlfriend before…"

"_That must be her, huh, maybe we need something a bit different for her, eh, Kagami-chan?_" Kira questioned with an evil glint in her eye.

"Definitely," Kagami mirrored her best friend's evil glint. "Ryu-kun, can we come onboard now?"

"_Yeah, we got everyone secured,_" Ryu confirmed. "_I'll meet you guys on the bridge._"

"Not sure if I can manage that though…" Kagami frowned, feeling that familiar tugging in the back of her mind. "Hanami's about to come back out, and someone'll have to explain to her what happened to our home… and what she's doing on an OMNI… excuse me, former OMNI vessel."

"_I understand, I'll get there as soon as I can,_" Ryu informed. "_Mu, you're in charge for now, ZAFT won't be moving anytime soon so let's see what we can salvage for supplies._"

"_You got it Ryu,_" Mu confirmed as he started issuing orders.

"_I'll be right there, Kagami-chan,_" Ryu assured as he began moving.

"Right, Ryu-kun," the silverette jetted off towards a hangar that Kira had opened up, touching down slowly and settling into a docking bay. Once Kira had the hangar repressurized, she opened up her cockpit hatch and climbed out, but the usual bout of drowsiness that came about when her original personality resurfaced hit her as she was pushing herself out, causing her to miss the railing as she floated out.

"Kagami-chan?" Kira questioned as she came up next to her friend. "Are you alright?"

"Muh?" the silverette stirred, but quickly realized something was wrong when she found out her feet weren't on the ground. "Ki-Kira-chan? What…?" she looked around in confusion through her normal blue eyes.

"Hanami-chan, just hang on a second, Ryu's on his way," Kira informed assuringly. "A lot's happened and it's best if Ryu explains it."

"Umm… okay…" Hanami nervously looked around her for something to push off of to get back to Kira, but didn't find anything… and suddenly she remembered there was a reason why people didn't wear dresses or skirts in zero-G. "Hya!" she squeaked as she made to wrap her dress around her legs before anyone could see under it.

Kira giggled a bit at her friend's plight as she looked around to try and see how they could get moving in the right direction. "Hold on, you two!" Ryu shouted out as he drifted towards them, using his maneuvering pack to slow his approach. "Are you alright, Hanami-chan?" He questioned, making sure to look in the eyes before choosing the name to speak.

"I-I-I'm alright, Ryu-kun…" Hanami blushed as Ryu wrapped a hand around her shoulders. "But… wh-where are we? Wha-what happened?"

"We're aboard a formerly OMNI Ship, the _Archangel,_" Ryu informed slowly. "ZAFT had attacked and during the skirmish one of the units they had stolen had struck the central column, and… the colony… it was destroyed…"

Hanami's eyes widened in shock as her brain processed the information. "ZAFT… attacked us? Wh-why? The colony was… was… de-destroyed…" Her eyes darted around frantically, looking for a window only to find none as she started hyperventilating. "Ryu-Ryu-kun… What about the people? Ou-our friends? Ple-please tell me…"

"Mostly everyone got to the shelters in time, the only people who didn't were either too old to get there in time, or just were idiots," Ryu informed. "And we're getting reports now on who's in the Shelters, your friends are fine. Calm down, Hanami-chan."

Hanami placed a hand on her chest as she tried to get her breathing back under control, drawing warmth from Ryu's hands. "Okay… okay… But… how di-did I get here?" she looked around in awe at all the machinery and the other mobile suits parked in the hangar. "How lo-long was I out?"

"A couple hours," Ryu informed. "Kira ended up sortieing when two GiNNs slipped passed the defensive line and ended up taking you with her."

Hanami nodded in understanding, turning to her best friend. "So-sorry for the trouble, Kira-chan… I'm always bu-burdening you needlessly…"

Kira hugged Hanami tightly in response. "You're never a burden to me, Hanami-chan," she informed. "You're my best friend."

"I-I suppose… Thank you, Kira-chan," the silverette reciprocated the hug gratefully.

"Let's see if we can find you some quarters to rest in," Ryu said as they got to the hangar exit. "You two must be exhausted."

Hanami was having to hold onto Ryu's arm for support, the shock still not entirely out of her system yet. "Yeah… that'd be nice…" she murmured, wondering why her body felt so… fatigued.

Ryu gave her a kiss on the temple. "Don't worry Hanami-chan," he whispered to her. "I'll take care of you and get you back to the mainland safely."

Hanami had already drifted off to sleep by then, only her arms wrapped around Ryu's keeping her from drifting off in another direction.

Ryu snorted slightly as he readjusted her so that he was carrying her bridal style. "Kira, I may need your help on the bridge, it all depends on how cooperative the OMNI crew is," he informed. "Not many of us are familiar with how to operate a warship like this…"

"Sure thing, Ryu-san," Kira replied, even as Takeshi and Amuro's machines entered the hangar, the catapult areas serving as an airlock of sorts. "I should be able to run it from my computer if we have to."

Ryu nodded in agreement. "Thank you," he informed. "Unfortunately, for the time being, you and Hanami-chan are going to have to remain as part of the ORB military, at least until we get to the homeland."

"Fine by me, Ryu-san," Kira replied. "Right now, we just need to worry about getting out of here, and hope the civilians are safe…"

* * *

**With the ZAFT Pilots**

* * *

"_Well…_" Dearka Elsman, a blond haired teen of arabic descent, started in a subdued voice. "_That went to hell _really _quick…_"

"And whose fault was _**that**_, Dearka?!" Yzak Joule, a silver-haired teen with almost constant anger issues, snapped. "You were the one to fire that gun of yours off without regard to what you might hit if your target _**dodged!**_"

"_I panicked, alright!_" Dearka shouted. "_Those two pilots were on us like dogs on bacon! We needed to make some space!_"

"_Alright, that's enough, you two,_" Athrun Zala, a blue-haired teen and nominal leader of the group, interjected. "_What's done is done. We can't really affect it at all, all we can do is get back to the ships and hope the fallout isn't too bad._"

"_I'll be lucky with just some jail time…_" Dearka said with a sigh. "_I mean, I destroyed a Colony, a _neutral _Colony… why in the hell were we attacking it in the first place?_"

"Anything building weapons for the EA can hardly be considered _**neutral**_," Yzak remarked. However, before he or any of the others could say any more, something pinged on his radar. "Huh?"

"_What's up, Yzak?_" Athrun questioned immediately. "_Did something happen?_"

"Got something here…" he remarked, reorienting his machine and moving towards the blip on his radar. "…a Lifepod?" he asked as the object came into view.

"_Is it damaged?_" Athrun asked. "_What's its condition?_"

"Hold on…" Yzak remarked, coming up to it and placing a hand on it to link to its systems. "I think its thrusters are shot, and it looks like it might have a minor oxygen leak - nothing catastrophic, but it does seem to be losing air."

"_Dammit, and we don't know when ORB will get here,_" Dearka groaned. "_And one minor leak can become a major problem quickly…_"

Yzak growled. He didn't want to do this, but the collapse of the colony _**was**_ technically their fault… damn guilty consciences! "I'll bring the Lifepod back to the _Gamow_," he informed.

"_Understood,_" Athrun confirmed. "_There's the _Gamow_ and _Vesalius, _holy shit… what the hell happened to them?_"

"_Looks like someone hit them with a lot of firepower…_" Dearka remarked. "_Wow, that's a lot of damage…_"

"_Approaching Machines, Identify!_" an operator from the _Gamow _demanded as they came into the damaged vessel's RADAR range.

"_This is Athrun Zala,_" Athrun replied. "_We're bringing in what machines we were able to capture - the last one managed to elude us, and Nicol grabbed one, but got captured with his unit. We're also bringing in a damaged Heliopolis Lifepod, its thrusters are down and it seems to be leaking air._"

"_It'll be tight, but I think we can fit them aboard,_" the operator informed. "_As you can see, we took damage, as soon as you're aboard, we'll be limping back to the PLANTs._"

"_Understood,_" Athrun replied, as they headed to the _Gamow_. "_Hopefully when we get back, we can arrange for the people in the pod to get back to the ORB Homeland._"

"If _we can make it back,_" the operator announced with a sigh. "_We got quite a bit of damage, let's hope duct tape and spit works._"

"That _**does**_ sound bad…" Yzak replied. "Well, hopefully we can at least call for a pick up if the repairs fail and we get stranded."

"_Agreed,_" Dearka said with a sigh. "_Also… Nicol was captured…_"

The operator sighed. "_Hopefully we can get him back somehow…_" they replied. "_For right now, all we can do is focus on getting home._"

* * *

**Aboard the **_**Archangel, **_**Bridge**

* * *

Ryu and Kira entered onto the bridge after tucking Hanami into the bed. "Have the OMNI soldiers been behaving, Mu?" he asked as Kira took a seat in the CIC and began typing away.

"Pretty much," Mu replied. "They haven't done anything to try and regain the ship, at least." He then looked things over. "We also got everything stowed away, including the Strike, that machine Takeshi's using, the machine Kira recaptured, and the unknown machine that helped us - Lady Cagalli and that 'Amuro Ray' person piloting the unknown are on their way up."

Ryu nodded. "Maybe we can get some answers from this Amuro Ray fellow," he said with a sigh. "That Gundam-type, it's not a style I've seen before…"

"Agreed, not to mention he used some odd terms," Mu remarked. "I overheard the contact-link conversation he had with you… what did he call your DRAGOONs? 'Funnels'?"

Ryu nodded. "Well, I suppose it'll be what it'll be," he said with a sigh. "Hey Kira, how well can you manage the _Archangel's _systems?"

"Pretty well," Kira replied. "I'm in their systems, and I think I could run the whole ship from here - main problem is we're rather low on provisions, so we won't be able to go that far without resupplying."

"I sent out some of our people to see if they could salvage anything up from _Heliopolis' _ruins," Mu informed. "So far we got quite a bit of water and a few supply ships that were in the bay during the attack."

"That's good," Kira replied. "Hopefully we'll have enough supplies to make it back to the Homeland, or at least Ame-no-Mihashira."

Ryu nodded. "I have a few words for the Sahaku family, the OMNI Gundams being built here has their fingerprints all over this," he said with a frown. "But… we need supplies more than anything."

At that point, the door opened, and Cagalli entered the Bridge, accompanied by Murrue Ramius (who had regained consciousness as they landed) and followed by Amuro, still clad in the flight suit he had used during the battle at Axis.

"Lady Cagalli," Ryu greeted. "I'm glad to see you're safe," he turned to the OMNI officer. "Lieutenant Ramius, we of ORB have taken control of this vessel and the Strike, when we reach ORB territory we shall leave it for the Politicians to decide what happens to you and your crew."

Murrue nodded. "Honestly, I was likely one of the few crew members to realize what might happen should things go wrong, which they did," she said. "And given how the EA seems to be becoming more and more a tool of Blue Cosmos, I've been starting to contemplate the idea of defecting to ORB."

Ryu blinked in surprise, before he nodded. "Alright, then, welcome to ORB, Lieutenant," he said appreciatively. "I'm going to need you to try and convince the other members of your crew to assist us with operating this ship."

"I'll do my best," Murrue replied. "We'll need to work together to get out of here in one piece."

Ryu nodded, before finally turning to Amuro. "So, mind telling me exactly who you are, Amuro?" he asked.

Amuro nodded. "Of course, though I'll mention that at least part of the story might not be all that believable," he said. "I will first mention that I do not know what year it is, or what calendar you use - where I came from, the year was Universal Century 0093."

Every set of eyes on the bridge blinked in unison at his declaration. "I think you should explain more," Ryu informed.

Amuro nodded, then proceeded to briefly explain the history of the Universal Century, through the One Year War, the Delaz Conflict, the Gryps Conflict, and the First and Second Neo Zeon Wars.

"As I was trying to push Axis away from Earth," Amuro said as he wrapped up his explanation, "everything seemed to fade around me, into a realm that I didn't know what it was… where I met the spirit of a woman I had known during that first war. She said that my time in that world was done, but that I was still needed elsewhere, that another world needed to see the Light within the Human Heart."

Ryu hummed as he considered Amuro's story. "Normally, I would shove you into an asylum, but…" he informed. "I believe you."

"Yeah, me, too," Mu replied. "Definitely explains the feeling I get from you… and there are more of these… 'Newtypes' in your world?"

Amuro nodded in confirmation. "For the most part, we were just beginning to emerge, and many found themselves becoming ace pilots for their militaries," he informed. "And Funnels are remote weapons that they can use."

"Something tells me that Newtypes are the same as those people with spatial awareness in this world," Mu remarked. "And your Funnels sound a bit like our DRAGOONs…"

Ryu nodded in agreement. "So, I have a rather important to ask you," he informed. "Are you willing to assist us in getting to ORB territory? We're willing to try and help rearm your Gundam in return."

"That would be fine with me," Amuro replied. "Also, the spirit, Lalah, she said something else just before I entered this world, just before the battle began. She said that I needed to find a 'Valkyrie', and that this Valkyrie would need my help revealing the Light in the Human Heart to the world… however, that was all she said - she didn't say who this 'Valkyrie' was."

Ryu shrugged. "I've never heard a callsign like that, myself," he informed. "I'll let you know if I do, though."

"Thank you," he said. "I appreciate it. Now… I admit that I am a bit clueless about this world. Do you think you could explain this world's history to me, and possibly the nature of the current war?"

Ryu nodded in agreement. "Better make yourself comfortable, it'll take a while to explain," he informed. "It started a while back with this guy named George Glenn…"

* * *

**Meanwhile - **_**Vesalius**_** Bridge**

* * *

"Well, I was assuming there would be some damage from the battle," Rau le Creuset remarked as he stood before Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak. "Still, I wasn't expecting the entire colony to collapse… what happened?"

"It was my fault, Commander," Dearka informed. "ORB had fielded some new units of their own and I panicked during the battle…"

"I see…" Rau replied. "Well, I can excuse a bit of panic - we faced some of ORB's new machines, as well, and their power was truly greater than anything I've seen. I will inform the Council and anyone else who inquires that it was an accident - unexpected collateral from confrontation with a new enemy. Rest assured that I will do my best to ensure your punishment is light."

Dearka nodded, giving Rau a slightly suspicious look. "Sir, what will we be doing with the civilians?" Yzak questioned.

"Once we return to the PLANTs, we will see about returning them to their homes," Rau replied. "In the meantime, we will treat them as guests."

Yzak nodded his understanding. "So… how damaged are the engines?" Athrun asked himself. "Anything we can help with?"

"No, your assistance isn't needed," Rau replied. "It is pretty bad, but we can still move. We can't fight, though, so we would need your Mobile Suits if we run into any trouble."

Athun nodded. "I'll work on completing the OS, but…" he trailed off.

"Right," Rau replied. "In the meantime, we'll all likely need to take turns caring for our guests."

"I guess I'll help with them," Yzak informed. "I… didn't score very well when it came to repairs and maintenance."

"Very well, I'll leave that to you," Rau said. "Dismissed."

* * *

**END CHAPTER!**


	3. Chapter 3: Settling In

Disclaimer: None of us own Gundam SEED. Goddamn Sunrise… Furthermore, any franchises that make cameos here belong to their respective owners.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Radio"_

Chapter Three: Settling In

* * *

_**Archangel, **_**Ryu's Quarters**

* * *

A certain silverette slowly stirred from her slumber, groaning slightly as she rolled to one side wondering why her bed didn't feel as soft as it normally should. She yawned as she attempted to blink her sleep inertia away, before rolling again… only to find that she was rolling onto air.

"Muh?"

A loud crash ensued.

"Ow ow ow…" Hanami rubbed the back of her head gingerly as she sat up. Her surroundings didn't seem all that familiar to her… although she did vaguely remember being on a ship before she… passed… out on… Ryu's arm…

"Ngh… Hanami-chan?" a sleepy voice questioned from the bed, a familiar male voice. "Did you roll out of the bed again?"

"Ryu-kun!" Hanami blinked in surprise as her brain jumpstarted. "Thi-this is…" her face turned a bright red as she realized that her lover had been… sleeping in the same bed with her…

"Mm? Oh, we're low on space right now, so people are doubling up," he informed as he sat up with a jaw cracking yawn, showing he was clad only in a pair of boxers. "What with the original OMNI crew, and the near entirety of the ORB Garrison…"

Hanami's attention was, however, focused only on her lover's well-toned, powerful-looking body. Her brain had pretty much already shut down with the conclusions she was drawing from his current state of dress and their sleeping arrangements. Almost hesitantly, she checked her own state of dress, only slightly relieved to find out… wait a moment. That was her dress lying on the chair beside the bed.

That meant…

She looked down to be greeted by the sight of her large breasts, thankfully still covered by her white, lacy bra. "Wha-wha-wha-wha…" her speech completely failed her as her brain reached its limit. A few silent seconds later, she fell forward onto a somewhat groggy Ryu who barely managed to catch her in time before she could slump to the floor.

"What the…" Ryu asked. "Huh… wasn't she wearing her dress last night?"

"Pretty sure I was," Kagami made her presence known, blinking as she took in her current position in her lover's arms before smiling and happily pressing her chest into Ryu's. "I'm going to have to thank Kira-chan later for this."

Ryu sighed in response. "Of course, it's the witch's fault…" he said shaking his head. "And why would you thank her?"

"Well, wouldn't you agree it's something nice to wake up to? A magnificent view of your girlfriend's curvaceous body…" she chuckled sultrily as she stepped away a bit and squashed her assets together with her arms gently as she leaned her upper body towards Ryu, emphasizing their bulk just a little bit. "I'm sure most guys would kill for this."

"Not saying I'm against the view," Ryu informed with a grinned. "C'mere, I'd like some sugar in the morning…"

"Ask and you shall receive!" the silverette obliged happily, leaning in to put her lips up against her lover's, maintaining the position long enough to slip her tongue into his mouth.

Ryu's arms slipped around her waist as he returned the kiss, pulling her close to him as her bosom pressed up against her chest. "Have I told you how much I love the two of you?" he questioned with a small smirk.

"I believe you have, at least once every day in fact," Kagami grinned, looking like the cat that got the cream as she glanced down for but a moment. "By the way, you're every bit as big as I expected, in more ways than one."

Ryu chuckled in response. "Can you blame me?" he asked. "After all, with such a beauty on my lap, how could I not be so big?"

"You flatter me…" Kagami mock-bowed before resting her head on his shoulders lovingly. "I love you, Ryu-kun."

"And I love both sides of you, Kagami-chan," he informed as he simply held her in his arms. "You both complete me…"

"And you're our pillar of strength, Ryu-kun…" Kagami simply relaxed into his embrace, enjoying the heat of his body, the feel of his rippling body against her bare skin, the steady beat of his heart. To her it felt like a dream come true - her only regret was that her other persona wasn't there to feel it all.

"Mmm… Kagami-chan," he whispered. "When we get back to the Homeland… will… how… I would like to marry you…"

Kagami's heart skipped a beat, and she could practically hear her other persona shouting out her joy in the back of her head.

'_YES!' _the voice said.

"R-Ryu-kun…" she whispered. "I-I-We would be honoured…"

'_Ryu-kun fi-finally proposed to me!' _her voice cheered out loud in her mind.

'_I know, right!?'_

Kagami paused as she wondered why she was talking to herself in her mind - it wasn't like Hanami could hear her anyway, right?

'_Umm… I can hear you…'_

"Ryu-kun… I think Hanami-chan can hear us…" Kagami's eyes widened in shock.

Ryu blinked, his eyes widening. "Really?" he asked. "What… what was her response… to my question?"

'_Of-of course! I can't imagine life without Ryu-kun now!'_ Hanami replied passionately.

"She's more than happy to accept. Quite honestly neither of us can imagine living without you at this point, Ryu-kun…" Kagami smiled. "This is going to take a bit of explaining though."

His eyebrow rose. "To Hanami-chan?" he asked. "Or… your parents?"

Kagami shuddered at the thought of her parents - or more specifically her dad. "Both. Otou-san and oka-san were worried enough the last time they heard about the…" she shivered, but forced herself to move past the thought before her panic attack could hit. "Otou-san should be more accepting if he knows you were the one who stopped it though."

"Well… I suppose we'll deal with it when the time comes," he said before letting out a sigh. "This is going to be a tough few weeks ahead… pirates are rather common in the route that we're taking to Ame-no-Mihashira."

'_A-are we going to fight again…?'_ a hesitant Hanami asked._ 'I can see some of your memories now, Kagami-chan…'_

"We'll have to deal with them as well… Ryu-kun, I'm going to need some help preparing loadouts for the Exodus if I'm to fight beside you," Kagami sighed. "Hanami's a little hesitant, but I won't let anyone hurt us… I… we want to stay by your side forever."

Ryu sighed but nodded. "Then we can do that today," he informed. "I'll be helping Amuro with reequipping his Nu Gundam as well…"

"Right," Kagami nodded her consent, the worry in Ryu's eyes not escaping her attention. "Ryu-kun, you know I'd be more worried if I wasn't out there to watch your back. I don't want to sit back and watch as you fight on alone… I promise I'll train as hard as I can, to be the best pilot I can be so no one will be able to take me down."

Ryu smiled in response as he kissed her forehead. "Alright, I understand," he informed a dark shadow covering his upper face. "Then, I hope you two are ready for boot camp, 'cause technically, you're still a part of the ORB military…"

"Yes sir!" Kagami saluted smartly, although she still looked ridiculous doing it in only her underwear.

Ryu chuckled as he killed her nose. "Sorry, but… you and Kira will have to be wearing the ORB uniform for the time being," he informed. "So let's get to the supplies, the garrison brought a whole bunch of stuff when they evaced."

"Thank goodness… I'd rather not repeat that incident in the hangar just now, as much as I like dresses," Kagami made a face.

Ryu smiled a bit. "I'm sure… although…" he trailed off as he scratched his cheek.

"Eh?" Kagami tilted her head to one side questioningly.

"Unfortunately the standard ORB uniform for females is a skirt…" he informed his girlfriend.

"Oh," the silverette sighed. "I'll just have to make do then."

Ryu chuckled as he placed a hand on his girlfriend's head. "Pilots, though, are granted special leave to wear modified, within reason, uniforms."

"Oho! That gives me all sorts of… ideas…" Kagami rubbed her hands together gleefully. "Well then, Ryu-kun, shall we get going? We still have a lot of things we need to do."

Ryu chuckled. "That we do, Kagami-chan, that we do," he agreed. "Let's get dressed and get going…"

* * *

**A little later, **_**Archangel**_** - Hangar**

* * *

Amuro sighed as he looked over the available Mobile Suit weapons aboard the _Archangel_, some were spare weapons from the project they called the G-Weapons, while others were spare weapons from the ORB Gundam units.

"Hey there!"

Amuro looked up to see the brunette girl, Kira if he remembered correctly, floating up to him. "Ryu thought you might need a little help deciding what to use."

Amuro gave her a grateful smile. "That's true," he informed. "Unfortunately, while I can guess, I'm not completely aware of what each of these are capable of… or what would work on the Nu Gundam the best."

Kira nodded. "Understandable," she replied. "Well, for starters, you'll likely need a Beam Rifle of some kind… any other types of weapons you used before now?"

"Clay and Hyper Bazooka's, Mega Beam Cannons, beam sabers," Amuro listed. "And Fin Funnels were on the original equipment of the Nu…"

"Hmm… might need to adapt you some new DRAGOONs…" Kira replied. "I think that I saw some Bazooka's from the Exodus's weapon hanger system that should pack a decent punch, if you need it."

Amuro nodded in understanding. "The DRAGOON Beam Cannons are the closest to the Fin Funnels," he informed. "So those, the Bazooka, and do you think we could mount the Sword Striker's Boomerang and grappling hook as well?"

"Should work," Kira replied. "Let's see what we can do…"

Amuro nodded. "We'll need to work on the power conversion ratio of the beam weapons to change the Minovsky Fusion Reactor to something more acceptable for the Beam weapons that you use…"

Kira nodded. "Alright," she replied. "By the way, what are your thoughts on our world, Amuro-san?"

"It… reminds me of my own world a dozen years ago," he informed, letting out a sad sigh. "People divided by hatred of how the other was born…"

"Wow," Kira replied. "I guess some things don't change no matter where you come from…"

Amuro nodded. "But… I think you are all probably better off than we were," he informed. "I personally think you probably have a better chance of working this out than we did…"

"Maybe…" Kira replied. "Still, from what I've heard, you didn't really have to deal with the issue of genetics, like we do."

"The basics are different, but, the reason is the same, 'you are different than me'," Amuro said. "That is what the war is about…"

"I guess…" Kira replied. "But it's still rather stupid - colonial or earthborn, Natural or Coordinator, Newtype or Oldtype, we're all human in the end."

Amuro nodded in agreement. "Let's hope I can get people to understand that sooner rather than later…"

"Yeah…" Kira replied. "Definitely want to do it before the radicals on both sides find a way to start flinging WMDs again…"

Amuro nodded slowly. "Now… I hear you're good at Mobile suit software, mind working on that while I set up the cables?" he asked.

"Sure thing!" Kira said, as she moved into the cockpit. Though once she was in the cockpit, she paused for a moment as she looked around. "Wow…" she remarked. "Definitely a lot more advanced than the cockpits we have…"

"Yeah?" Amuro asked from his own position at the back of the unit. "You don't have Panoramic Cockpits?"

"Nope," she replied. "Just three screens showing the front and sides, and barely enough room for one or two people to ride behind the pilot as passengers."

"Huh, well, when we get to your homeland, I can help engineer some Panoramic cockpits, they're certainly better than those ones, a lot less concussions from hitting the consoles too."

"Ryu would probably like that," Kira replied as she got in the pilot's seat and started typing away…

"I would like what?" Ryu called out as he and Kagami entered the hangar.

"Amuro's machine has a Panoramic Cockpit, Ryu!" Kira called out from inside the cockpit. "Come on and check it out!"

Ryu raised an eyebrow and walked over before looking into the cockpit, letting out a low whistle at the roomy cockpit. "Impressive," he commented. "Hey Amuro, you mind if I have some of our techs make a schematic of this cockpit?"

"Sure," Amuro called back. "I can even help with that!"

"Sounds good, Morgenroete's been experimenting with it, but they haven't had much success with it," Ryu explained as he inspected the cockpit. "Using yours as a base, we'll be able to actually complete one…"

"You've come further in other ways," Amuro remarked. "I mean, your DRAGOON Tech is about as advanced as Nu Gundam's Fin Funnels - back during our first war, the One Year War, Zeon was the first to develop Newtype Weapons, and that very late in the war."

Ryu shrugged. "It's based off of wire-guided units that the first space use mobile armor OMNI developed," he informed. "Just took some tweaking to make it wireless, although it drains the Energy Batteries fairly quick."

"I see," Amuro replied. "That's another thing I might be able to help with - if we can find a supply of Helium-3 that doesn't involve going all the way to Jupiter, we might be able to develop some Minovsky Reactors for you - they might not be affected by these 'Neutron Jammers'."

"Helium-3?" Ryu asked, scratching his chin a bit. "I _think _there might be some on the Moon, but I'm not certain…"

"If there is, hopefully it can last long enough for us to set up a dedicated supply chain to Jupiter," Amuro replied. "The Jupitris Convoy was the main way we got Helium-3 back in our world - massive container ship going back and forth from Jupiter."

Ryu hummed as he scratched his chin. "I hear the DSSD was experimenting with a type of propulsion for intersystem travel." he mused. "We may be able to get them to assist us in the matter."

"Be interesting to find out, to say the least," Amuro remarked. "Kira, how's the software coming in there?"

"Almost finished!" Kira informed. "Just need to go over the power ratings for this Minovsky Fusion Reactor…"

"Hold on, I'll help you out with that," Amuro replied as he moved to go into the cockpit.

"Thank you, not sure how to relate this to the Energy Battery ratings," Kira said distractedly. "We may need to make a custom Particle Conversion Cable… might be able to use the ones for the Mirage Colloids for it."

"Right," Amuro replied, moving into the cockpit and floating next to Kira, as the two started typing and comparing notes.

Kagami whistled as she looked at Amuro and Kira working on the cockpit together. "Ryu-kun, don't you think they… look almost like a couple in there?" she whispered to her boyfriend.

Ryu blinked and looked at the pair. "Y'know, I think you're right…" he whispered back. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yep, I think I know what to do to repay Kira-chan for this morning," Kagami chuckled. "Say, do we have any weaker sleeping pills around here that Hanami-chan can spike their food with later? She's planning to take a look at the kitchens already."

Ryu rose an eyebrow. "I may or may not," he informed elusively. "And I may or may not be able to arrange it so a bottle can end up in the kitchen one way or another."

"Great!" the silverette grinned as she cast another look at the possibly-soon-to-be-couple. "Alright, I think I better let Hanami-chan out for now - she wants her Ryu-kun snuggle time. I'll see you in a moment!"

Ryu chuckled as she closed her eyes, before reopening them to Hanami's eyecolor. "Hey, Hanami-chan, feeling better?" he asked her.

"Ye-yeah… I can't believe it… All this while I ha-had Kagami-chan inside me and I-I never knew…" she whispered.

Ryu chuckled as he pulled her into a hug. "I would have told you, but… Kagami-chan was unsure of how'd you'd react."

"It's fine… I can understand, I go-got some of her memories now… I can see why." Hanami smiled as she relaxed into the hug.

Ryu kissed her scalp gently as his hands massaged her shoulder blades. "Just remember, Hanami-chan, I am here for the both of you, you _and _Kagami-chan," he whispered to her. "I love you."

"And I lo-love you too, Ryu-kun…" the silverette turned around and hesitated for a short moment before planting her lips on his in a chaste kiss.

Ryu smiled slightly as he returned the kiss, one hand falling to encircle her waist while the second moved up to the back of her neck, pulled her a bit closer. "I'm glad we met, Hanami-chan," he told her. "You're a shining light in my life…"

"Thank you, Ryu-kun…" Hanami blushed as she felt her body being pressed against Ryu's, but kept smiling as she stared into the eyes of her boyfriend that seemed to be as deep as the ocean…

"If you two are finally going to 'do it', I suggest getting a room," Kira remarked deadpan. "We don't want to see or hear it."

Hanami practically teleported behind Ryu in surprise when Kira suddenly made her presence known. "We-we-we weren't about to do anything!" she hurriedly denied.

"Well, it didn't really look that way to me," Kira replied, smirking. "Still, if you don't want to help on the Mobile Suit Maintenance right now, then find something else on the ship to do. You'd just be in the way floating around aimlessly like you were."

"We-well, Kagami-chan wanted to work on the Exodus' loadouts…" Hanami poked her fingers together nervously as she looked up at Ryu. "Should I let her back out again?"

"How about we work on it for a bit," Ryu suggested, smiling at his girlfriend. "I want to spend some time with you as well, you know."

"Alright, Ryu-kun," Hanami gave Ryu a small smile as she looked up at the mobile suit her alter ego had claimed for herself.

"C'mon, let's see what kind of crazy weapons the mechanics thought up," he said as they moved to the cockpit. "Anything in particular you're looking for."

"Well, Kagami-chan says that she'd like to see if we ca-can get the… Agni? Refit it for the heavy weapons backpack… And personally I'd like to see how I do with a sniper rifle - there's an attachment to the beam rifle fo-for that, right?" Hanami mused, bringing up the list of compatible weapon attachments.

Ryu nodded. "It seems that they're based off of the Striker Packs and have universal hardpoints," he murmured. "So Agni is possible."

Hanami started to gain a bit more confidence as Kagami's knowledge about the Exodus flowed into her mind. "I could use one loadout for sniping… One cargo container with trap materials and the sniper attachments in it, one cargo container with a missile launcher with more trap material… camouflage net backpack… One more loadout for heavy assault…"

Ryu nodded as he made notes onto a tablet. "All right, what about that Siege Cannon?" he asked. "Do you want a bombardment Pack?"

"Definitely, but I'm going to need some extra protection or some other way to get around the mobility problems with it…" Hanami mused. "The thruster output of the heavy weapons backpack isn't enough to compensate for the added weight of the shells and the cannon itself. Oh yeah, and one pack for high mobility combat. The wings for mobility, perhaps extra cooling for the beam rifle to increase the rate of fire… Oh, and a pair of beam gatlings on the rear hardpoints."

Ryu nodded, making more notes. "Right," he replied with a nod. "Hmm, we may be able to salvage some of the extra parts from the G-Weapons to make extra Phase Shift plating for the Exodus."

"That would reduce the operational range of the Exodus though… but I guess it's worth the sacrifice considering it didn't come with Phase Shift," Hanami mused. "We could also put a few spare batteries in the cargo containers since the Exodus' batteries are field-replaceable…"

Ryu nodded in agreement. "It may also be possible to jury rig some battery extenders that the Black Frame uses," he said. "Might be easier than replacing an entire battery."

"Yep. The Exodus is completely vulnerable when replacing a battery - the auxiliary one only lasts for 2 minutes or so on power conservation mode too," Hanami agreed.

Ryu scratched his scalp before smiling. "Man, this reminds me of when I was working on the Dragon Gundam with Savant Heavy Industries," he informed with a chuckle. "Wasn't easy I tell you."

Hanami blushed slightly, "Kagami-chan is he-helping me a lot actually… I'm not quite sure what I want, but she knows almost everything about the Exodus, and she only piloted it once…"

Ryu hummed. "Well, you were always skilled with mechanics," he commented. "Kagami-chan may be able to use that skill to the full potential."

"Maybe…" the silverette mused. "Ryu-kun, I… really can't thank you enough for taking care of the both of us for so long…" she looked at her boyfriend lovingly.

Ryu smiled at her as he pulled her into another hug. "Of course," he assured. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't support you?"

"R-Ryu-kun, as much as I want to do it now… we're in a… um… slightly public place…" Hanami complained, but relaxed into it anyway.

He kissed her temple. "What's there to be embarrassed about?" he asked quietly. "After all, it's not exactly a secret that you're my girlfriend…"

Hanami was quiet for several moments before she hesitantly looked up at Ryu again. "R-R-Ryu-kun… umm… Ca-can we… uh… do i-i-it later?" she whispered quietly, before a blush overtook her and she ducked her head in embarrassment.

Ryu gave her temple a kiss before letting go. "Alright," he agreed. "So, how much did Kato teach you guys about equipment modification."

"A-actually… I meant… _IT_," she whispered barely audibly.

Ryu blinked in surprise, looking at Hanami in surprise, before taking her hand. "If you feel like you're ready for this," he said with a soft smile. "Then I would be happy to do that with you…"

"I-I-I mean, with this fighting going on… I-I'm scared we might not get an-another chance…" she rubbed her thighs together nervously.

Ryu smiled at her before he surprised her as he pulled her into a gentle kiss. "I understand," he informed. "And, if you're willing…"

Hanami just nodded, not willing to trust her voice - she was still surprised she had been able to ask him without fainting… Ah, her vision was going dark…

"Sheesh, I'll have to pull her out again later," Kagami grumbled as she surfaced.

Ryu chuckled as he continued to hold her close to him. "I'm honestly impressed she managed to say that before fainting," he informed. "She's been improving quite a bit."

"Indeed she has," Kagami smiled. "And she definitely has to improve with me encouraging her from the rear seat! That being said…" she squashed her lips against Ryu's for a short moment before breaking off. "You definitely have something to look forward to tonight," she teased, lifting her breasts and letting them bounce slightly.

Ryu chuckled again. "You temptress," he said teasingly. "And I definitely do… so, how about we get to work so that we can get to _that _sooner?"

"Definitely," the silverette agreed, before putting her finger to her chin in thought for a few moments. "Oh yeah, got any good wine on the ship? If we do, can we have a bottle of it sent to our room?"

Ryu shrugged. "Some may have survived," he informed. "I'll ask around later."

"Great!" Kagami pumped her fist in the air. "I have some… ideas for it."

Ryu chuckled a bit as he he shook his head at her antics. "Right, I might be able to modify one of the Launcher Striker's Agni's power ratio," he informed. "I might even be able to jury rig a clip system if we have the right parts."

"That would help a lot with the power consumption of the thing…" Kagami happily noted. "Oh yeah, what about the Buster's gun-launcher system? I'm wondering if we can put that on the Exodus."

"There might be spare parts for it around," he informed, scratching his chin. "I'll see what I can find…"

"That's pretty much all I can think of for now," Kagami nodded in thought. "Let's get to work!"

Ryu nodded in agreement as he cracked his neck. "Time to teach some things that you can't quite learn in a classroom," he informed. "Let's get started with the

Agni, might be able to use the battery extenders as an improvised clip system…"

* * *

**Later that night, **_**Archangel**_**, Ryu's Quarters**

* * *

"I'm all sweaty…" Kagami groaned out loud as she settled herself on a chair and started pulling at the neck of her dress to try and help cool herself down.

"It happens," Ryu agreed, kissing her forehead. "Try doing this in atmosphere without low gravity helping move everything."

Kagami winced at the thought. "I have enough trouble carrying these things around in gravity," she gestured at the twin orbs of flesh on her chest, groaning as she stretched and ended up cracking her back. "Ouch."

"Why don't you go have a nice hot shower," Ryu told her with a small smile. "That should help you loosen your muscles."

"Oooh, sounds good. Might help revive Hanami-chan too," Kagami perked up at the thought of a hot shower. "I'll be right back," she practically skipped into it whistling a merry tune.

Ryu chuckled as he peeked outside the door and winked a Mu who was carrying a tray with two plates of food, wine glasses and a bottle of wine. "Thanks Hawk," Ryu whispered gratefully. "I owe you one."

"No problem, Ryu," Mu replied. "Also, I ran a quick check - all the rooms are soundproofed, no clue why the EA would want that, unless they were planning to staff the ship with BC Goons who could get up to all manner of things that required soundproofing, but it means you two won't keep the ship up all night."

Ryu sent him a thankful grin before disappearing back into his room and setting up the tray and pouring some wine into the glasses before dimming the lights and lighting some candles, waiting for when Kagami to get out of the shower.

Apparently she had switched out while in the shower, because Hanami came out with a towel wrapped around her tightly, but shyly without Kagami's usual confident stride. She peered out from behind the shower door for a moment before sighing and stepping out. "R-Ryu-kun, I'm done," she said.

Ryu smiled at her kindly. "And I got us some dinner and wine," he informed. "Won't you join me?"

"Su-sure," the silverette nodded as she hesitantly took a seat opposite her boyfriend, still wrapped in the towel.

Ryu gave her a small tender kiss across the table, before pulling the lids off of the plates to reveal Carbonara spaghetti. "Called in a favor from Kira," he informed. "She's about the only one who knows how to make something other than gruel."

Hanami's eyes started shining as she stared at her favourite food. "Ryu-kun, you're the best!" she declared as she took up a fork and spoon. "Itadakimasu!"

Ryu chuckled as he did the same, watching in amusement as she dug in, unknowingly spreading the sauce over her face as he ate at a more sedated pace. "For a witch, she cooks pretty well," he commented.

"Well, I did teach her how to cook," Hanami smiled, looking very comical with the carbonara sauce all over her cheeks. "And I have to assume she picked up some more stuff of her own since because this is… a bit better than the last time she made it."

Ryu chuckled as he took a sip of the wine. "I know you're not exactly legal age, but… I think no one would mind you drinking some," he informed, gesturing to the glass next to her plate.

"Considering how much I use it in cooking, I don't mind either," the silverette nodded, taking a small sip from the glass and swirling it with a small smile on her face. "Well-aged too. Ryu-kun, where… did you get this?"

Ryu smiled. "Well, turns out Mu had a few bottles that he had stashed away in his mobile suit… for… whatever reason," he informed. "You like it I take it?"

"Definitely. And it just happens to go well with carbonara spaghetti too," she licked her lips. "I'm lucky people always assume I'm legal age when I go to Italian restaurants and feel like splurging."

Ryu chuckled, glancing at her well developed chest. "Must not be that hard to do so," he commented. "I also have a friend who runs the Orto Resteraunt, that real fancy one on Onogoro? I might be able to get us a reservation there…"

Hanami had to wipe off the drool that was threatening to drip onto her food. "I have yet to go there, but I heard it's the best in ORB… And it's practically impossible to get a reservation there unless you do it a month in advance!" she gawked.

Ryu smiled at her proudly. "Like I said, I'm friends with the owner, she used to be apart of the Zero Corps was when I was in OMNI, and after the whole Junius Seven thing happened, we defected to ORB," he explained. "Me and Mu joined the military, she decided to become a civilian and open a restaurant and well… the rest is history."

"That's nice…" the silverette nodded as she polished off the last of her food. "I wonder if I could open up one as well after I feel like settling down…" she mused.

Ryu smiled as he finished his own meal and moved over next to her. "And I'd be happy to help you with it," he informed her. "Also… you got a little something on your cheeks," he said before leaning in and licking her cheek, scooping some of the sauce off of it.

Hanami shivered slightly as she felt his hot tongue on her cheek, but offered no resistance and instead just blushed. "Tha-thank you, Ryu-kun…" she whimpered.

Ryu chuckled in response as he pulled her to her feet and captured her lips with his own. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Yeah… I am," Hanami confirmed with a small nod.

Ryu gently guided her to the bed. "I've honestly been looking forward to this for quite a while," he admitted, sitting down before pulling Hanami onto his lap.

"So… so have I, Ryu-kun," she closed her eyes as she leaned in to press her lips against Ryu's.

_*** * *LEMON ALERT!* * ***_

As they kissed Ryu pulled the towel off of her body revealing her white laced bra and panties to him before he moved his lips to her neck to begin kissing along it, his hands slowly massaging her hips. "Your skin is so soft," he whispered to her as he continued to kiss her skin.

Hanami shivered as she felt her lover's hot breath on her skin and the gentle pressure of his lips. She could already feel her nipples perking up with arousal under her bra - it was even slightly visible since her bra was still a little wet from her bath. "Ryu-kun…" she whimpered, grasping his hand just slightly tighter as he reached her sensitive breasts.

Ryu continued his actions of kissing her skin. "Yes, Hanami-chan?" he asked her, after leaving a hickey on her shoulder.

"I love you so much…" she smiled shyly as she reached to her front, for the clasp that held her bra together. One quick action undid it, and she cast it aside as she allowed her considerable assets to bounce freely on her chest.

Ryu smirked as his lips moved down to her chest, kissing the skin of her breasts. "You're so beautiful, Hanami-chan," he told her as his hand cupped her other breast and licked her nipple.

Hanami let out a low, sensual moan and a shiver - her breasts were one thing, but her nipples were far more sensitive! She reigned herself in, though, and started reaching for Ryu's shirt, tugging gently at it. She didn't want to be the only one half-naked!

Ryu acquiesced with her tugging and helped her pull off his shirt and undershirt, revealing his toned upper body. "Like what you see, Hanami-chan?" he asked with a small grin. "Because I like what I see…"

The silverette stared at Ryu's body in awe, running her hands gently over his chest and abs, quietly memorizing the feel of his muscles, the heat radiating from his skin, and the musky smell of his sweat. Hanami silently decided that she had most definitely made the right choice when she started dating him as she nodded, not trusting her voice to hold together.

Smiling at her, he pulled her into another kiss, gently lowering her to the bed as they made out, before separating and slowly making his way down her body, kissing her skin and slowly pulling her panties down, showing her slightly moist pussy.

"I'm a-all yours, Ryu-kun…" Hanami whispered as she gave Ryu's hand a gentle squeeze while attempting to undo his belt with one trembling hand.

Ryu chuckled slightly as he helped her with his belt before pulling his pants and boxers off, showing his erect member. "Relax, Hanami-chan," he told her as he moved down her body until he was facing her pussy and gently blew on it.

"Eeep," Hanami squeaked as the hot air came into contact with the most sacred part of her body. She was trembling at the thought of what would happen when her lover plunged into her depths, but she shook aside her fears and steeled herself for what was to come, her resolve reinforced by the love she was feeling from him.

Ryu smirked at her rather cute response before moving in and gently kissing her moist entrance, then running his tongue along it. "You taste sweet," he told her, grinning up at her. "I take it feels good?"

Hanami nodded weakly, gasping out loud as he dove back in, causing heat to build up inside her. She started rubbing her thighs together even as her hands reached up to her own breasts to start massaging them.

Ryu slowly drove his tongue deeper into her pussy, enjoying the taste of her juices as he reached up with a hand to slowly tease her clit.

A particularly strong shiver ran down Hanami's spine as she let out a wordless scream at the sudden contact with her most sensitive part. Already she could feel herself getting wetter as she ran her hands over her own soft mounds, kneading them in an attempt to get herself even more aroused. In her pleasure she never noticed several droplets leaking from her nipples.

"Cum for me, Hanami-chan," Ryu whispered to her. "Let me taste your cum."

Hanami breathed in and out heavily, arching her back as her release threatened to take hold, but she wasn't quite at the edge yet… although she did wince as Ryu's tongue flicked out against her soft folds once more, retreating with more of her juices. The heat inside her slowly began to build to her limit…

Seeing her at her very limit, Ryu took his finger and pressed it against her pussy and slid it into her as he began to suckle her clit.

"Ahhn~" Hanami let out a moan of pleasure as she felt her release approaching. "R-Ryu-kun!" she warned.

"It's okay, Hanami-chan," he whispered to her. "Let it out…"

The silverette lost it and bucked her hips, opening her mouth in a silent scream as the heat rushed out of her lower entrance and even her breasts. "I'm… cumming!" she gasped out loud, relishing the euphoric sensation flooding her brain.

Ryu smiled as he lapped up her juices as she came, prolonging her orgasm, by the time it had ended Ryu was up at her breasts licking the liquid that seemed to be leaking out of her nipples. "Naughty, naughty, Hanami-chan," he said to her as she slowly recovered. "You seem to be lactating, is your milk addiction catching up to you?"

"I… I am…?" she panted, resting a hand on her breasts and blinking in surprise when she felt her breasts covered in milk. "Ho-how… I've never… had this… happen before…"

Ryu's eyebrow rose in surprise. "Really?" he asked, before grinning. "Not that I'm complaining, it tastes pretty good, here, have a taste of it yourself," he sucked up a mouthful of her milk from her nipples and captured her mouth, sharing her milk with her.

Hanami blinked again when she tasted her milk - a hint of the product of her release from the other end invading her mouth as well. She had to admit she agreed with Ryu's assessment, although it was… a little weird for her to be drinking her own milk - she still wasn't quite used to the idea of lactating herself.

As they twisted their tongues with one another Ryu began to rub his erection along her snatch, moaning in unison from the sensations. "Are you sure, Hanami-chan?" he asked her, panting slightly from their makeout session.

The silverette nodded meekly, her voice failing her yet again as she reached down and stretched her lower entrance open, inviting her lover to take the plunge.

Accepting her invitation, Ryu began to slowly push himself into her, and upon coming up to her hymen before pausing long enough to capture her lips and broke past her barrier, sheathing himself completely into her.

Hanami tensed up and fisted her hands in the sheets as the pain from having her virginity taken hit her, although Ryu's kiss helped her to somewhat forget the pain. After a few painful moments, she felt the pleasure hit her and relaxed, giving Ryu a small smile and a nod.

Ryu smiled in return as he began to slowly thrust into her, running his lips along her breasts as he lapped up some of her breast milk, groaning as he felt her pussy ripple around his cock. "You're so tight, Hanami-chan," he panted out as his thrusts became slightly erratic. "It's… so warm inside of you."

The silverette could barely form a coherent sentence as her brain started going fuzzy, pleasure hitting her both from her upper and lower body. She could barely focus on anything else other than Ryu thrusting into her and the feel of his hot tongue on her still-lactating breasts. It wasn't long before she felt the pressure inside her start to build. Tensing up slightly, she wrapped her arms around her lover and pulled him into a deep kiss.

"Hanami-chan, I… I'm going to cum," Ryu warned between his panting. "I… can't hold it back anymore…"

"Ne-neither… can I…" Hanami whispered weakly as she felt her dams about to burst.

"I'm cumming!" Ryu shouted before he hugged her tightly to his body as he kissed her.

Hanami gasped out loud as her control failed her and once more her orgasm hit her hard at the same time Ryu's did, filling up her womb with his seed and her own juices while she ended up lactating all over Ryu and herself as well. "R-Ryu-kun… I… I love you…" she whimpered, still high from the action.

"I love you too, Hanami-chan," Ryu informed, gently kissing her cheek. "Forever and always."

Hanami could only smile weakly back as her vision started fading into darkness and she fainted on the bed. It didn't take long for her alter ego to take over as her eyes reopened, showing Kagami's red eyes. "Mmm… That was really good…" she purred. "I'm proud of her for lasting this long, really."

Ryu chuckled as his hands reached to her breasts and began to slowly massage them, teasing some more milk out of them. "I take it you want in on some of this too?" he asked with a quirked lip and raised eyebrow.

"Of course!" she chirped, glancing at the half-finished bottle of wine on the table. "And I have a bit of an idea to… spice it up. Ryu-kun, can you get that for me? I don't think my body's in any condition to move around for now."

Ryu chuckled as he reached over and grabbed the wine, and passed it to Kagami with a raised eyebrow. "What're you planning, Kagami-chan?" he asked with a smirk.

Smirking right back at him, Kagami sat up and wrapped an arm under her breasts, squashing them together slightly and causing them to make a wet smacking sound even as she raised the bottle and tipped some of its contents out onto her chest, letting it run all the way down through her milk-covered valley, over her stomach and to her crotch, shivering as the cool wine prickled on her skin. "Taste me, Ryu-kun," she whispered sensually.

Ryu murmured. "My pleasure," he told her before leaning in as he ran his tongue through the valley of her breasts, taking pleasure in the mixed taste of the wine and her milk. "Yummy…"

The action only served to coax a bit more milk out of a smiling Kagami. "There's a lot more where that came from," she grinned as she felt Ryu's hot breath on her breasts. Slowly she tipped out a bit more of the wine over her right breast, making sure it would run immediately over her nipple - she had to force herself not to wince at the prickling feeling on her sensitive skin, the wine was far too good!

Ryu smirked as he moved over to her right breast and took it into his mouth to begin suckling it, drinking her milk by the mouthful, and using his tongue to scoop up some of the wine around her nipple.

This time, Kagami did let out a short but loud 'Eep' as Ryu started milking her. It was a completely new feeling to her - not that she minded, but she almost lost her mind when he lightly rubbed his teeth against her alcohol-covered nipple! "That feels so good…" she groaned as she set the bottle aside for now and started playing with her other nipple, not quite willing to let only one be pleasured.

Ryu's chuckle reverberated through her breast as he continued to milk her, one of his hands dipping down to her snatch and began to slowly tease it.

"Ryu-kun… you tease…" Kagami panted as she picked up the bottle again and pressed it into Ryu's free hand. "I'm all yours, do with me as you wish," she smiled.

Ryu separated from her, a partial mouthful of her milk and took a quick swig of the wine before sharing the mouthful with Kagami before moving down to her snatch and poured some wine over it, enjoying the sight of Kagami squirming at the sensation. "Just so you know, Kagami-chan," he whispered as he leant in to her pussy. "It's also the same in reverse."

"Nice… to know…" Kagami grinned weakly, fighting the urge to rub her hips together as the wine prickled at her soft pink folds almost teasingly.

Smiling at her he leaned in and gave her entrance a long lick, enjoying the unique taste of her juices mixed with the wine. "_Very _tasty," he murmured. "I think I could get addicted to this…"

"Hyaa~" Kagami squeaked out loud before cupping a hand over her mouth in shock at the foreign-sounding voice that had escaped her throat. The wine had actually made her even more sensitive!

Ryu's eyebrow rose at her squeak. "How cute," he said, smiling at the embarrassed silverette. "How willing are you to some, experimentation, Kagami-chan?"

"I-I'd love to, Ryu-kun," she quickly got over her moment of weakness as she relaxed slightly. "What do you have in mind?"

Ryu moved up along her body so that he was face to face with her, a wine coated finger teasing her ass ever so slightly. "If you don't want to, just say so," he told her with a whisper.

"I like trying new things, though," Kagami grinned at him, squirming slightly.

Ryu smiled as he gently kissed her lips, his finger teasing her asshole, lubricating it with the wine as he slowly eased her into relaxing her rosebuds. "I love you, Kagami-chan," he told her. "You made me the happiest man in the world when you accepted my proposal…"

"And you made us the happiest girls in the world when you did propose to us…" Kagami whispered. "Hanami-chan and me both."

Ryu kissed her deeply, pouring his love into the action as he removed his finger from her anus and placed his dick at her rosebud. "Ready?" he asked in concern.

Kagami nodded, preparing herself for her lover's entry. "Still a little sore from just now, but I'll be fine," she reassured, staring into Ryu's eyes lovingly. "Go ahead."

Ryu nodded as he slowly began to press into her ass, being sure to push in as gently as he could. "Wow… it's… really tight…" he informed with a grunt before leaning in to kiss Kagami.

"Of… course it is…" Kagami gasped, but quickly felt around for Ryu's hands and placed them on her wet overdeveloped breasts, giving him an encouraging squeeze. "Up here, too… mister!"

Ryu chuckled in response as he leant in and gave her breasts a sloppy lick and a suck as he slowly eased more of himself into her ass until he was completely hilted inside of her. "Let me know when you're ready," Ryu said to her as he continued his ministrations on her chest.

"I'm… ready anytime…" she smiled, wincing slightly as she adjusted herself for some extra comfort.

Ryu nodded as he started with a slow pace, allowing her to adjust to the sensation of his member inside of her anus, the wine helping lube her so that he could thrust smoothly. "You're rippling around me," he murmured as he nipped at her nipples. "Your ass keeps trying to pull me in deeper."

"This just feels too good…" Kagami groaned out loud, getting aroused more and more as she heard the loud smacking sounds of Ryu's hips hitting her soft ass and felt his member almost splitting her open with every thrust. "Keep going, Ryu-kun!"

Ryu nodded distractedly as his thrusts picked up a bit more force, as one hand groped the opposite chest that he was suckling and his free hand began to grope her soft asscheeks. "I just… can't hold myself back," he informed as he picked up a little speed.

"Neither can I!" Kagami was already starting to feel the heat through the haze of her pleasure as she slipped a free hand down and started rubbing her clit too.

"Kagami-chan, I'm… going to cum soon," Ryu warned.

"M-Me too…" Kagami whispered as she slipped two fingers into her slit and started thrusting in and out even as she felt the pressure building inside her once more.

Ryu panted as he separated from her nipple and captured her lips with his, seconds before the flood gates let loose and he came inside of her. Kagami came at virtually the same time with an erotic moan as her juices spilled out of her, drenching herself once again.

Ryu gently lowered himself onto the bed, pulling Kagami partially on top of him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm… spent…" he admitted. "You two… were… amazing…"

Kagami was too busy catching her breath to reply, but she just gave Ryu an encouraging smile as she pressed her wet body against him, snuggling into his warm embrace.

Ryu chuckled slightly as he kissed her scalp. "I think I'll be sleeping like a baby tonight, eh, Kagami-chan?" he asked her. "Night…"

"Good night to you too, Ryu-kun…" Kagami was pretty much as exhausted as Ryu was, so it wasn't long before she descended into the realm of Morpheus.

Ryu smiled down at her as he watched her sleep for a while. "I'll protect the both of you, Hanami-chan, Kagami-chan…" he whispered to her sleeping form. "No matter what happens, I will always be with you… whether in body, or in spirit…"

_*** * *End Lemon* * ***_

* * *

_**Vesalius, **_**Guest Quarters**

* * *

Yzak paused outside one of the rooms, bearing a tray of food. Several members of the crew were on rotating food duty for their guests, and had been busily reassuring them that they would be returned to ORB at the earliest convenience. This was the last room, and the redhead within had been rather acerbic when being led there, so they'd decided to draw straws to see who brought her food, since no one had volunteered. Yzak, unfortunately, had drawn the short straw.

After knocking on the door, a slightly angry voice called out, "What do you want, Coordinator?"

"Got food for you," Yzak called out, trying to be as polite as he could while seething inside. She was one of those Naturals who hated Coordinators, likely sympathized with Blue Cosmos. _**Great.**_

"It's poisoned, isn't it?" the redhead demanded through the door. "After all, you'd get a promotion for killing the daughter of the Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Alliance, wouldn't you?"

Yzak's eyes widened. She was the Vice Foreign Minister's daughter? No _**wonder**_ she hated Coordinators - the apple apparently didn't fall far from the tree! "Look, lady, even if we'd known you were the Vice Foreign Minister's Daughter, which we _**didn't**_, we wouldn't kill you - you'd have more value as leverage than as a casualty," he said. "But we aren't planning on _**that**_, either - as soon as we get to the PLANTs, we're going to arrange transport for everyone to go where they want."

"Yeah right!" Flay Allster shouted through the door. "You coordinators would never let a valuable prisoner just leave! You just want me as leverage so that you can kill _more _of us, why else would you monsters attack an innocent colony!"

"_**YOUR COLONY WAS BUILDING WEAPONS FOR THE EARTH FORCES!**_" Yzak yelled through the door. "We were _**intending**_ on just causing a little chaos for a distraction, snatch those weapons, and get out, but things got out of control! The _**only**_ reason the colony was destroyed was a careless missed shot hitting the shaft!"

"IF THAT'S TRUE! THEN WHY ATTACK THE COLONY AT ALL!" Flay screamed. "I may not know a lot about military tactics, but I know that attacking a Neutral Colony for whatever reason is a war crime because of the innocent death it would cause, none of us even _knew _about those weapons!"

"Believe me, a lot of us are asking that, too," Yzak remarked. "A lot of us had family on Junius Seven when it got blown up, and doing that to something else is on the list of things _**not**_ to do, but Commander le Creuset was the one who made the decision to attack, and would brook no arguments."

"I'm not saying what happened at Junius was right, Daddy was really mad about that… but… when the N-Jammers were deployed, you killed a lot of people, you know!" Flay countered. "Sick and Ill people who were reliant on that power to keep them alive! People who couldn't even fight back… my mother…"

Oh. _**Ouch.**_ "I… I'm sorry to hear about your mother," Yzak replied, having lost a lot of his anger as talking about this brought up his own unpleasant memories. "My… my father was one of those on Junius Seven…"

"No one knew about what Blue Cosmos had planned…" Flay murmured, her voice barely audible through the door. "But… by the time everyone realized what was happening, it was too late, Blue Cosmos had essentially taken over the military…"

"Figures…" Yzak muttered, loud enough for her to hear him. "As for the N-Jammers, I hadn't really heard about the death toll from that, but if we'd just thrown nuclear weapons at earth ourselves, or allowed them to be used at all after Junius Seven, I'd imagine it would be a lot higher…"

"It's just… everything changed after Mom died… it was easier to blame everyone else…" she said. "I… didn't… I just didn't want to deal with the pain…"

And likely her father did the same thing, Yzak realized. He'd certainly done the same thing after Junius Seven. "I… I'm really sorry about your mother…" he said. "Now, I'd imagine you're hungry, right? I promise the food isn't poisoned."

The door slowly opened to reveal the puffy grey eyes of Flay as she looked out. "I'm… sorry," she murmured as she opened the door fully. "I was scared… and I lashed out unfairly…"

Yzak was forced to look away in order to hide his blush. She was rather cute, if he was perfectly honest with himself. "I'd likely have done the same thing, in your situation," he admitted. "And I was honest when I said we didn't know about your status. And I'll make sure that anyone who finds out doesn't try to take advantage of you."

Flay smiled hesitantly at him. "Thank you, umm… sorry, but… what's you name?" she asked, looking embarrassed.

Yzak flushed even further. This was definitely _**not**_ how he'd expected this to go… "It's Yzak," he said. "Yzak Joule."

"Yzak," Flay murmured, smiling a bit more. "That's a nice name, I'm Flay Allster, it's nice to meet you."

"It's… nice to meet you, too, Miss Allster," Yzak replied, rather uncomfortable. He wasn't the social type, dammit!

"Thank you for putting up with my anger," she said. "Umm… would you mind coming back and… talking with me some more?"

"I… I guess I could do that…" Yzak replied.

"Thank you, talking with you… it put me at ease…" Flay admitted, looking down with a blush. "And… it's kinda lonely…"

"N… none of your friends were in the Lifepod with you?" Yzak asked.

Flay shook her head. "We were separated during the attack," she informed. "I… I don't even know if they're alive…"

Ouch. "Al… alright," Yzak replied. "And… I'll see if I can help you find out what happened to them."

Flay smiled brightly at him. "Thank you very much," she said gratefully. "That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome," Yzak replied. "Now, I should probably go and let the others know I'm still alive… to be honest, your reactions when you first came aboard and were given that room meant we ended up drawing straws for who brought your food."

Flay flushed in embarrassment. "Can you… pass along my apology for my actions, then?" she asked quietly. "I… was scared… so… sorry…"

"Yeah, I think I can do that," Yzak replied, passing the tray to Flay before turning to walk back to the Mess Hall. "I'll… see you later, Miss Allster."

"Later, Yzak…" Flay said with a small wave.

* * *

_**Archangel**_**, Kira's room**

* * *

"Too… tight…" Hanami groaned as she attempted to close up the front of her newly-received ORB uniform.

Kira giggled in response, tugging slightly at her own uniform. "Well, they couldn't quite find your… _size _now could they," she said, smirking slyly at Hanami. "And from that limp of yours, I'd say Ryu's 'massages' just may help them grow even more…"

Hanami froze in her efforts and slowly, mechanically turned to face Kira with cold sweat pouring down her brow and a bright red blush adorning her cheeks. "I-I-I don't kno-know wha-wha-what yo-you're ta-ta-talking a-a-a-about," she stammered, putting on a poor excuse for a poker face.

Kira giggled. "_Sure _you don't," she said teasingly. "I'm _sure _that you and Ryu weren't getting all hot and sweaty last night making the two of you throw out the sheets from your bed."

Hanami recoiled backwards, her blush spreading to her neck before receding as she blinked a few times to show that her usually blue eyes had turned red. "Hiding behind me? Really, Hanami-chan?" Kagami sighed as she rubbed her temples. "We need to work on your courage, and you need to be proud of our relationship with Ryu-kun…"

Kira giggled. "Knew it," she said proudly with a small fist pump. "So… how was it? Was it everything you thought it'd be?"

"Everything I thought it'd be and then some," Kagami's eyes gained a faraway look in them as she thought of the previous night, wincing slightly at the soreness down below. She didn't think she'd be able to walk straight for at least one or two days. "I'm not telling you exactly how it was like - you get to figure that out yourself when you get someone," she giggled.

Kira huffed slightly. "And I can't get a boyfriend because of a certain overprotective brother," she said indignantly. "That and they're afraid of me doing a background check."

"This is impossible," Kagami groaned at her attempts to get the ORB uniform to fit her - the jacket - the biggest size they could find - was simply too tight around her chest. She decided to just leave the lower half unbuttoned, exposing her underbust - her bra was in the wash and she didn't manage to get a spare before the colony was destroyed - and stomach. Her jacket was also modified to be sleeveless. "Well, what about… Amuro-san?" she suggested, a slight smirk on her face.

Kira hummed slightly before shrugging. "I dunno," she informed. "Maybe, but… eh."

"You won't be able to do a background check on him anyway since he's from another world, and I don't think your siscon of a brother will be able to scare off an ace mobile suit pilot that can probably do more than just match him in combat," Kagami shrugged as she pulled up her customized version of the ORB uniform's skirt - a white, thigh-length pleated miniskirt that flared out towards the end, over a pair of spats. Her nether regions were reserved for Ryu's eyes only, thank you very much.

Kira pulled on the ORB Uniform that she'd customized earlier. It had a miniskirt and knee-high boots, but the uniform only went up to just above her breasts, and just below the level of her armpits. A pair of forearm-length gloves completed the ensemble. "But dragging up embarrassing stories is half the fun though," she informed with a slight pout. "Although I'll give him points for the Ace Mobile Suit Pilot part."

"Point," Kagami nodded as she pulled on a long pair of white and blue evening gloves and a pair of over-the-knee boots on top of thigh-length stockings. Flexing her fingers to test the gloves, she nodded in satisfaction and turned to her best friend. "What do you think?" she made a small twirl to show off her completed ensemble.

"Definitely an eye catcher," Kira said with a nod. "Although, I'd be careful with your twirls unless you _want _to show off your twins to the entire ship."

"The jacket's rigid enough that I don't have to worry too much about that," Kagami shrugged. "I still wish they had something my size, but even the undershirts don't fit me … and I really don't have anything else I can wear. And besides, this might be good confidence training for Hanami-chan."

'_Ka-Kagami-chan!'_ a scandalized Hanami complained.

Kira giggled. "Well, thankfully Pilots suits are form fitting," she said. "I don't think we can get away with customizing them to fit those girls."

"Tell me about it," Kagami grumbled as she hefted her breasts. "At least I can somewhat get away without wearing a bra since we're in space, but I'm definitely going to need to go shopping once we get back to the mainland. I hate gravity."

Kira nodded. "Same here," she agreed. "All of _my _clothes were in our dorm room…" she let out a depressed sigh. "Ryu better make sure we get paid for this…"

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'll make sure he does pay us," Kagami grinned. "All I have to do is… _suggest_ to him that we can get some clothes that he'll be… _happy_ with during the shopping trip," she put particular emphasis on the words 'suggest' and 'happy' while crossing her arms under her breasts, making them bounce slightly.

"Any and all men fall to your obvious secret weapon," Kira said with a shake of her head. "Still, didn't he say that he was going to interrogate that pilot we captured?"

"Oh yeah, we don't want to miss that," Kagami perked up at the thought. "I want to be there to scare the crap out of the bugger if he doesn't want to talk."

Kira nodded in agreement, a firm look in her eyes. "Yeah, I wonder how well the pilot would stand against ORB's 'Eye of God'," she murmured.

* * *

**END CHAPTER!**


	4. Chapter 4: Developing Bonds

Disclaimer: None of us own Gundam SEED. Goddamn Sunrise… Furthermore, any franchises that make cameos here belong to their respective owners.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Radio"_

Chapter Four: Developing Bonds

* * *

_**Archangel, **_**Interrogation room**

* * *

Nicol Amalfi swallowed nervously as he sat handcuffed to the interrogation table of a ship he tried to destroy just over 24 hrs ago, he _had _originally been in the brig, but twenty minutes ago, two stern looking ORB soldiers brought him up here and he was now awaiting his interrogator.

The door opened slightly as a person almost every member of ZAFT was familiar with, Ryu Hisanaga, a Coordinator formerly affiliated with O.M.N.I, his official designation within ZAFT was the 'Eye of Sagittarius' due to the fact that he never missed a shot in battle. "So… I hope you realize the many levels of shit you're in, boy," Ryu said. "Let's see, attacking a Neutral Colony, that's a big no no, conspiring to destroy ORB Property - Near the colony exterior wall too… and to top it off… the _destruction _of _Heliopolis._"

Nicol sweated. "Before this goes on, may I just say that Commander le Creuset was the one who decided on the attack, and that he wouldn't brook any disagreement?" he said, hoping that just volunteering the information would make them more lenient with him.

"We are aware of Rau's… _reputation,_" Ryu informed. "Which is _why _you are not being summarily executed here and now, in fact, we have a deal for you, full pardon and amnesty, in return, you roll over on Rau le Creuset in court, sound fair?"

"Sounds more than fair," Nicol replied, sighing in relief.

"Good, now, for security purposes, you will be under house arrest as it were in one of the quarters here on the _Archangel,_" Ryu informed. "All electronics have been disabled, the door will remained locked and will only open from the outside and guards will be posted, all meals will be brought to you, understood?"

Nicol nodded. "That works," he replied.

Ryu nodded. "Guards, bring him to his new quarters," Ryu called out to the two guards outside. "Be sure you behave, young man."

"I will, and thank you very much," Nicol replied.

Ryu nodded, and waited a moment before stepping out of the interrogation room and right into Kira and Kagami. "Hey you tw-... what in the hell?" he asked upon seeing what they were wearing.

Kagami grinned and gave her best friend a high five. "Well, we kinda lost all our belongings in Heliopolis, so I don't exactly have a spare bra to wear under this. And it doesn't fit me anyway, so I don't exactly have a choice," she cuddled into Ryu's side, making sure to let him realize there wasn't anything under her jacket.

"Well… it looks good on you," Ryu informed, only the barest hint of a blush on his face as he felt her press her 'assets' against him. "Although… I would recommend that when we get to the mainland, you get some undershirts with that… not sure if most commanders will… _appreciate _the outfit like I do."

"I know, but at least let me enjoy the feel for a bit in space. Gravity hates me," the silverette grumbled.

"Well, at least mine looks semi-decent," Kira remarked. "Shouldn't have as many problems."

Ryu chuckled as he tilted Kagami's head a bit before capturing her lips in a kiss. "Hope I didn't leave you _too _sore this morning," he whispered into her ear.

"Oh, I don't mind at all," she grinned as she hugged him. "This kind of thing is well worth getting sore for - although I don't think I'll be able to walk straight for another day or so."

"Good to know," he said. "I aim to please, after all."

"By the way, did we miss the interrogation already?" Kagami attempted to look over Ryu's shoulder into the interrogation room.

Ryu gave her an apologetic smile. "You did, it was just a kid, so we went easy on him and pressured him into rolling on Creuset," he informed. "_He's _the real war criminal."

"I remember you told us about him," Kira remarked. "What was the nickname? Old Mask Face?"

Ryu nodded. "Yeah, he's an Ace in the ZAFT military capable of keeping up with both me and Mu at the same time," he informed. "If you're pitted against him for some reason, retreat."

"Got it, Ryu-kun," Kagami nodded.

Ryu sighed slightly in relief as he hugged her. "If we do get in a fight, don't be reckless," he said to his girlfriend and now lover. "I don't want to lose you, Kagami-chan…"

"As if I'd do something stupid when I have someone to come back to after every fight," she chuckled, drawing small circles on her lover's chest. "Hanami-chan will watch out for me too, she's my second set of eyes."

_'Ye-Yeah!'_ Hanami mentally nodded from the back seat.

"Thank you," he whispered to both personalities as he brushed a strand of her silver colored hair. "And I'll make sure I give you _plenty _to return to."

"You do know that goes both ways," Kagami smirked as she took the hand and put it on her chest, over her heart.

Ryu chuckled as he moved in and captured her lips again, pressing her against the wall of the hallway.

"Alright, you two, we get it," Kira remarked. "You love each other very much."

The two of them both raised their hands and made a shooing motion towards Kira.

Kira chuckled, as she turned and left them, running into Takeshi shortly thereafter. "Hey there, Take-nii," she said. "What's up?"

"Imouto… I need to talk with you," Takeshi replied. "Do you have some place we can talk where we're assured of absolute privacy?"

Ryu managed to separate himself from Kagami long enough to gasp out. "Observation Room… sound proof…" before diving back in.

Kira nodded slightly before raising an eyebrow at her brother as they entered the small room that was quickly sealed behind them. "What's up, Take-nii?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I thought that now that you know what I do for a living, it'd be best to tell you just why I tried to protect you by keeping you unaware of that."

Kira rose her eyebrow in response, folding her arms over her bust as she stared at her brother. "Well?" she prompted.

"OK, first, let me just say Mom and Dad didn't tell _**me**_ about this until I was your age," he began. "What do you know about the Mendel Colony?"

Kira shrugged slightly. "I know that it's an abandoned colony after Blue Cosmos attacked GARM R&D when the company was attempting to fix the Coordinator Sterilization issue," she informed. "Other than that, not much."

"OK, that makes things a little simpler to explain." Takeshi began. "Simply put, from what Mom and Dad told me, Ulen Hibiki, the one who was in charge of the research at GARM, became obsessed. It wasn't just fixing the sterility problem anymore, he was obsessed with creating the Ultimate Coordinator - a perfect specimen. He was so obsessed, that when his own wife was pregnant with twins, he took one of the two fetuses out of her womb and placed it in an artificial one - believing that imperfections in the mother's womb were part of what was preventing them from reaching perfection."

"I was that one, wasn't I?" Kira asked after a moment of thought, placing a finger on her chin.

"Yeah, you were," Takeshi replied. "And you came out perfect, just like Ulen wanted. Mom and Dad knew about it because Ulen's wife Via was Mom's sister. Somehow, Blue Cosmos found out about it, too, which is likely why they attacked. To keep you and your twin safe, you were split from each other - you went to Mom and Dad, obviously, but they never told me where your sister went, or who she is."

Kira sighed slightly before shrugging. "Meh," she declared finally. "Granted it sucks about having a sister who I don't know, but… for the whole 'perfect' thing, meh."

Takeshi nodded. "Anyway, if it was known that you were a product of that project, BC would have spared no expense to try and kill you. That was why Mom and Dad kept the secret from you, and only told me when I knew enough to keep it myself. But I felt I needed to do more - there was still a chance BC would find out about you, so I needed to be strong enough to protect you from them. That was why I joined Terminal. And the reason I didn't tell you about Terminal was I feared that if you asked me about it, My answer would spawn more questions, and I might reveal your own secret to you before you were ready to hear it."

Kira blinked at her brother before shrugging. "Eh, well, I don't quite forgive you for not telling me, but," she sent him a small glare at that statement. "It really doesn't change anything, I mean, really, what can I do about this? It does explain some things, but… meh."

Takeshi sighed. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you," he said. "I knew you wanted to know why I'd kept being in Terminal from you, but I knew I'd need to explain about you, first, because you would need the whole story. And after seeing you in action earlier, I felt you were more than likely able to understand it all, and more than ready to hear it."

Kira nodded. "Well, I understand why it was kept from me, but… honestly Take-nii, I don't really care," she admitted. "I mean, so what? While I may have been born with the potential for amazing things, everything I've attained has been through my own hard work and learning."

"Alright," Takeshi replied, smiling. "Well, just know that I'll continue keeping you safe from BC as best I can, Imouto."

Kira shot her brother a look. "I am now a part of the ORB Military and am the pilot of one of their prototype machines," she informed. "And again I say, my best friend's boyfriend is Ryu fucking Hisanaga, who is wingmates with Mu la Flaga and am currently aboard the _most _advanced ship used by either side of this conflict, I think I'm safe, Take-nii."

Takeshi nodded. "Alright… though you have to admit, there was another way I was keeping you safe." He looked at her. "I know you thought I was overprotective in regards to your love life, but really, any of your prospective boyfriends could have been a closet BC Sympathizer! I couldn't take that risk."

"How about the chance that they weren't?" Kira asked. "And how about the fact that I've been taking martial arts since I was a kid?"

"OK, OK, maybe I was a tad overprotective," he remarked. He then smiled. "Still, I don't think we'll have that problem anymore."

Kira sighed. "It better not, _nii-san _or else I'll have to show you just _how _capable I am of _defending _myself," she informed with a strong poke to his chest. "Keep that in mind will you."

"Of course," Takeshi remarked. His smile turned into a smirk. "Still, as far as potential boyfriends go, I bet you could do a lot worse than a Mobile Suit Pilot from another timeline."

Kira's eyebrow rose. "What is everyone's obsession with that?" she asked with a huff of frustration. "I swear, help one person with the power conversion ratios and modify his OS a bit and everyone thinks you're dating!"

"Well, you have to admit, you two did look awfully cute and cozy in that cockpit together," Takeshi remarked, as he showed Kira a picture Kagami had taken of the scene in question and forwarded on to him.

Kira looked at the picture where both her and Amuro's faces were barely an inch apart as they both worked on the Nu Gundam. "_Kagami…_" Kira hissed with an angry expression. "Oh, I am _so _getting her for this."

"You do have to admit, though, you _**do**_ look cute with him like that," Takeshi remarked with a chuckle.

His chuckle was cut short by a fierce glare from his younger sister. "Watch it," she growled before stalking to the door. "_KAGAMI, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!_"

"Ryu-kun, I think we need to run," a muffled voice came through the door.

"Agreed," Ryu said as the thumping of feet was heard from the other side shortly before Kira slammed the door open to catch sight of the couple running away.

"In my defense, Kira-chan, you DID prank me that night with Ryu! I'm thankful for that, but the prankster code demands I get you back for it anyway!" Kagami called out shortly before they disappeared around a corner, leaving behind a trail of dust.

"Damn you, you bimbo!" Kira shouted out after her. "She really pisses me off sometimes…"

"Now I have got to hear this," Takeshi remarked. "How did you prank Kagami and Ryu 'that night'?"

"Well, sometimes Ryu would sleep in our dorm room, nothing happened, and he would normally just be wearing boxers or pants when he went to sleep," Kira explained. "So, with the doubling up, and Ryu and Hanami/Kagami sleeping together in the same bed, I may or may not have snuck in and took off Hanami-chan's dress while they were sleeping."

Takeshi blinked a couple of times, then laughed. "You are quite the prankster, Imouto," he remarked. "I swear, you're about as good at that as you are at hacking!"

Kira smirked at him. "Of course I am!" she declared. "Although it helps that Ryu only reacts to hostile intent while asleep, and not… pranking intent."

Takeshi laughed again. "Anyway, I won't tease you about Amuro any more, Imouto," he remarked. "However, if you _**were**_ to develop a relationship with him, I would be alright with it."

Kira glared at her brother before suddenly leaping up and delivering a kick to the back of his head. "SHUT UP ABOUT THAT ALREADY!" she shouted with a red face before stomping off. "I swear, only _I _am allowed to tease others…"

Takeshi sighed. "A real spitfire, she is," he remarked, rubbing the back of his head. "And I wasn't even teasing with that last bit… he does seem like he'd be right for her…"

* * *

_**Archangel**_**, Bridge**

* * *

Mu walked onto the Bridge, seeing Murrue standing in front of the windows in her new ORB Uniform. "Yo," he said as he walked up to her.

"Ah, Lieutenant," Murrue responded, looking only mildly surprised. "What brings you to the Bridge today?"

"Well, thought I'd check in on you, see how you were doing," he replied. "Not every day an EA Officer willingly defects to another nation, even if it is ORB."

Murrue nodded. "It… wasn't easy," she admitted. "But… with the direction OMNI is going, all it's becoming is just a bunch of thugs for Blue Cosmos…"

"True," Mu replied. "Ryu and I left a few weeks after Endymion… guess we could see just what path the EA was heading down…"

Murrue nodded. "You two caused quite the ruckus when you left, the two legendary Aces of Endymion just disappearing with their machines, one of them the only unit produced by Savant Heavy Industries…" she remarked. "Took a while for us to recover."

Mu chuckled. "Yeah, well, we don't regret it," he remarked. "Especially since ORB seems to be the only nation that's got its head on straight."

Murrue nodded. "It seems the world is descending more and more into madness with every passing day," she murmured. "Especially when things like _Heliopolis_ happen…"

"Yeah," Mu replied. "Radicals on both sides are driving their factions closer and closer to genocide… if this war doesn't stop soon, we could be facing a massive catastrophe…"

Murrue sighed a bit before nodding in agreement. "But… what are the odds of ORB getting involved in the war as things stand now?"

"With what happened to _Heliopolis_, a lot higher than otherwise," Mu remarked. "Both sides have been trying to get ORB on their side, but with the destruction caused by a ZAFT attack, triggered by the presence of EA Mobile Suits in the colony, odds are Lord Uzumi will just tell both sides to fuck off, and there'll be a true third faction in the war."

"That'll make things fairly chaotic then, wouldn't it?" Murrue asked. "I just hope we can survive this chaos."

"Agreed," Mu replied, as he and Murrue stood there, looking out into space.

'_Rau le Creuset…_' Mu thought. '_Something tells me you wanted this to happen… but why? What endgame are you after?_'

* * *

**With Ryu and Kagami, hallway to the Hanger**

* * *

"Man, Kira was _pissed, _wasn't she?" Ryu asked with a sigh as he and Kagami headed to the hanger. "Might want to try bribing her with something chocolaty later, Kagami-chan."

"Tell that to Hanami-chan, she's the cook. I'm just the prankster and trapmaker," the silverette grinned, clasping her hands behind her as she gently bumped against Ryu's side. "Do we have any chocolate on the ship anyway? Hanami-chan's going to need enough to bake a nice chocolate lava cake for her."

"I'll cough up my own personal stash for it," Ryu said. "And call in a few blackmails for the rest needed."

"Blackmails huh?" Kagami raised an eyebrow. "I never knew you were the kind of person to do that… Not complaining though!"

Ryu grinned as he winked at Kagami. "Hey, a base commander's gotta have _something _over his subordinates or they'd revolt way too quickly against him," he informed. "Especially when I make demands for things like their chocolate stash."

"I don't think most base commanders would raid their subordinates' chocolate stashes though," she chuckled before licking her lips suggestively. "Although… chocolate, huh? That does give me some more ideas… Going to have to pick up some chocolate syrup when we get to the mainland."

'_Kagami-chan is a pervert,'_ Hanami sighed, having picked up her thoughts.

'_Says the hypocrite closet pervert,' _Kagami thought back, rolling her eyes.

There was no response from the shyer silverette.

Ryu looked down at her with a small grin. "Y'know, that gives me an idea as well, y'know," he murmured into her ear. "How about we use it to make a modified banana split?" he asked suggestively.

"Oh Ryu-kun, that sounds… tasty," Kagami purred as she rubbed her thighs together in anticipation, already feeling her still-sore nether regions getting slightly moist. "Although I'm wondering why Hanami-chan isn't objecting to the use of food ingredients in this manner…" she hinted.

"Perhaps the chef in her wants to try new… _recipes?_" he asked, moving close as he ghosted his lips along her neck. "What do you think, Ka-ga-mi-chan?"

"Oh, I have a… few of my own I'd like to try out as well…" she chuckled as she picked Hanami's brain for things to do. "Should I let Hanami-chan out for a bit first? Maybe you can ask her for some ideas too."

'_KAGAMI-CHAN!'_ Hanami gasped.

"Sure, it should be interesting…" Ryu murmured, giving her earlobe a quick lick before placing feather light kisses around her temple. "I want to see what sort of ideas she has…"

The switch was very obvious - Hanami instantly wrapped an arm around her exposed underbust and started trying to do up the buttons of her uniform with a massive blush adorning her features, only to fail completely. "R-R-Ryu-kun…" she whimpered. "Kagami-chan is be-being mean…"

Ryu chuckled as he tilted her chin up before kissing her chastely. "Don't," he whispered into her ear. "I like you dressed like this…"

A short burst of steam escaped her ears as she reluctantly stopped her efforts at making herself more presentable, although she still kept her right arm across her underbust holding her left elbow. "If-if you say so, Ryu-kun…" she whispered, burying her face in his arm to hide her embarrassment.

Ryu chuckled. "You're a beautiful young woman, Hanami-chan," he told her. "Don't hide yourself from the world, instead, step forward with a strong back and face the world knowing that I will always be at your back…"

Hanami paused for a moment to think over her lover's words. With a small smile, she tried puffing her chest out and putting a more confident stride in her step.

*snap*

'_Ara, it took me a while to get that button done too,'_ Kagami remarked, although she didn't sound disappointed in the least.

Hanami had instantly pulled Ryu's arm into her bosom as if trying to hide the fact that her uniform was now unbuttoned one extra notch, blushing an even brighter red.

Ryu restrained his laughter as he allowed her to use his arm to cover herself. "It was a good first step, Hanami-chan," he assured. "Just remember that confidence, okay?"

"O-okay, Ryu-kun…" the embarrassed silverette nodded as she slowly released Ryu's arm and tried to adjust her jacket for some slightly better coverage. "Oh yeah, I keep fo-forgetting to ask… Ryu-kun, who is that… Badgiruel-san wa-was it?"

Ryu sighed a bit as he scratched the back of his head a bit. "It's… complicated…" he informed slowly. "Natarle and I… we started in the academy, back then my dad looked out for me and those who chose to associate with the 'Coordinator', Mu was one, Natarle was the other," he let out a slight chuckle of remembrance. "She had always been rather straight laced, even back then, trying to reign the two of us in whenever we went off pranking, although she did have a rather… amusing mean streak in her when people pissed her off," his smile dropped a bit. "After a while, me and Natarle got serious and began dating with one another, even after we left the academy, she was stationed on one of the _Drake_-class ship's attached to the Zero Corps, although… everything changed when dad died after Blue Cosmos assassinated him… they couldn't really touch Mu because he was too high profile, but Natarle…"

Hanami had started leaking some slight killing intent without even realizing it, but upon hearing about her lover's dad she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him without hesitating. "What ha-happened to her?" she asked, trying to project her love for him into the hug.

"Her career was threatened," he informed, a sad smile on his face. "Despite my words earlier, I actually don't blame her for succumbing, her family is a very strict military one, if you don't advance, then you're not worth the time, that's basically how they are…"

"So she… dumped you?" Hanami gasped in shock. "Tha-That's so… so… irresponsible!"

Ryu chuckled again before kissing her forehead. "Like I said, I don't really blame her," he admitted. "Without the support of her family… she'd lose herself, she was raised on following her parents, and her superior's orders, they didn't really care that she was in a relationship with me, until Blue Cosmos threatened to stall her career and not give her the possibility of advancement, or even discharge from the military, and with her her family, she'd be disowned, never to talk to _anyone _in her family again…"

The silverette fell silent as she tightened her hug around her lover. "I suppose… I can't really say much as a civilian…" she relented slightly. "But still… why couldn't she defect to ORB with you? She'd be out of Bl-Blue Co-Co-Cosmos' grasp then right?" she struggled slightly to say the name that had almost destroyed her life so long ago, but slaved through.

"She could, I suppose," Ryu said with a sigh. "But… can _you _imagine leaving behind your entire family, never to speak to them again?"

Hanami clenched her fists behind Ryu, but relaxed them shortly afterwards. "I… understand, Ryu-kun. But… but do you still…" she sagged slightly, unable to finish her sentence properly - unable to even think of what might happen should her lover reply in the affirmative.

"She will always hold a place in my heart, Hanami-chan," he told her softly. "Simply because of the friendship we had before we became lovers, just like both you and Kagami-chan hold a place in my heart, Hanami-chan, even if we decided to go our separate ways for whatever reasons, you will always been in my heart."

Hanami brightened up slightly. "Ryu-kun… thank you for being with me," she sniffed as small tears started leaking from her eyes.

"Hey, hey," Ryu soothed as he wiped the tear away from her eye before kissing her. "No tears now, you know I can't stand to see a beautiful woman cry."

"Ri-right, Ryu-kun," she quickly wiped away the rest of her tears and flashed a small smile at Ryu.

"C'mon, let's go see what we can do for the Exodus," he informed with a smile and a wink. "Let's see if we can improve its performance at all."

"Ye-Yeah!" Hanami hurried along to catch up to Ryu, a small skip in her step.

As they entered into the hangar, they were surprised as they came across Natarle, who blinked in surprise at them, before noticing exactly _what _the silverette was wearing. "W… what are you wearing?" she asked in a mixture of shock and anger. "You call that a uniform?"

"Eep," Hanami quickly hid behind Ryu. "Ka-Kagami-chan! See what you did!" she whispered quietly enough for the former EA officer not to hear.

'_Ara, ara,'_ Kagami murmured.

"You know pilots are allowed to customize their uniforms, Natarle," he told her with a blank look. "Hers is downright modest compared to that nudist back at the Grimaldi Front."

'_Even I'm not bold enough to walk around in the buff…'_ Kagami remarked.

Hanami somehow managed to imagine Kagami walking around naked in her own body, but she quickly cut that chain of thought off before she could faint - the idea of it was simply… unthinkable!

"Y… yes… when you put it that way… it definitely _**is**_ modest compared to that…" Natarle remarked, pointedly looking away from Hanami, her cheeks… dusted with red? "But still…"

Ryu, noticing the red on her cheeks, raised an eyebrow at his former girlfriend. "Is that… embarrassment I see, Natarle?" he asked. "From the person who walked into the mens showers and stole our towels while stark naked?"

"O-of course not!" Natarle denied vehemently. "Why would I be feeling embarrassment?" she asked, while trying hard _**not**_ to look at Hanami and her 'uniform', which showed off her shapely legs, tight stomach, and large 'assets' - Natarle mentally slapped herself. What was _**wrong**_ with her?

Hanami peeked out from behind Ryu shyly, curious at the sudden change in atmosphere, only to retreat back behind him when Natarle looked at her oddly again.

Ryu looked at Natarle carefully. "How have you been, Nat?" he asked, using her old nickname. "Haven't heard from you since your promotion."

"Well, I've been doing well," she remarked. "A… a little guilty over what happened, though… I mean, I cared for you a lot… I still _**do**_… but when it came to a choice between you and my career/family, I…"

"You chose your family over a boyfriend of what, two months, I understand Nat, I do," he informed her. "I won't lie and say it didn't hurt… but, I do forgive you."

"Th… thank you, Ryu…" she replied, still trying not to look at Hanami and her… enticing curv-'_Stop it!_' she thought to herself. '_I'm straight! I know I am! I'm still carrying a slight torch for Ryu, for crying out loud! So why am I feeling this way because of that girl and her uniform choice?_'

"I-If it helps, I fo-forgive you for hurting Ryu-kun, too…" Hanami slowly stepped out, still keeping close to Ryu with a hand in his to draw strength from his reassuring grasp.

Ryu smiled at Hanami gently. "Nat, this is Hanami Yukikaze, my girlfriend," he said, introducing her. "Hanami-chan, this is Natarle Badgiruel, and old friend of mine."

"P-Pleased to make your acquaintance!" Hanami snapped into a quick, stiff bow, which did… interesting things to her assets.

Natarle had looked at her when Ryu had introduced her as his girlfriend - which had caused a quick pang in her heart from the affection she still had for Ryu - only to turn away just as quickly as Hanami performed her bow, blushing fiercely at the sight of the girl's assets… bouncing… like that, still wondering why the sight of the girl's outfit stirred such feelings in her. "It's… it's nice to meet you, too, Hanami," she said.

Ryu hid a slight smirk as he followed the path of Natarle's eyes. "Finding something interesting, Nat?" he asked.

Natarle stood ramrod straight. "I… interesting?" she asked. "Why would I find another woman's bouncing assets int-" her eyes widened and her hands flew to cover her mouth.

"Wha-what!?" Hanami ducked behind Ryu again, blushing wildly at the former EA officer's slip of the tongue.

"Oh my, is the straight laced Nat a Bisexual? I kinda suspected it, what with the way you would look at my squad commander," Ryu said, a grin blooming on his face. "So, Nat, interested in breasts bigger than yours?"

Natarle spluttered. Bisexual? Her? "I… I…" she stammered, trying to find something to say.

"Now, now, Nat, it's nothing to be ashamed of, it just means you get the best of both worlds," he informed with a chuckle. "And let me tell you, Hanami-chan's are amazing…" he sent a wry grin to the Silverette.

"Eeeeep!" the silverette in question looked like she was about to pass out, with a massive blush stretching from her forehead to her neck. "R-R-Ryu-kun!" she complained.

Natarle stared at Ryu in absolute shock, even as she thought about it in her mind. And as she thought about it, it _**did**_ make sense… "I… I guess I am…" she admitted finally. "I… whenever I started feeling those feelings towards a woman, I always squashed them, denying it, swearing up and down that I was straight… but… I can't deny it any more, I guess…"

"You say it like it's a bad thing, Nat," Ryu said with a smile. "You are, who you are, no matter what."

Natarle smiled softly. "You always know what to say, don't you, Ryu?" she asked. "I guess that's part of what I've always loved about you…"

Ryu chuckled slightly. "I guess I do," he informed. "I really have missed you, Nat."

"I… I've missed you, too, Ryu…" Natarle replied, looking at him fondly, no longer trying to hide from Hanami.

Hanami gave a small smile at the sight of the reunion, although she felt a small pang of jealousy in her heart. She quickly quashed it, however. As for Natarle being bisexual? She decided to ignore that… little problem for now - it slightly unnerved her.

"So, how do you want to proceed?" Ryu asked Natarle. "Friends?"

Natarle paused, thinking about how to phrase what was in her mind and heart. "Well…" she began, "I doubt we could just… pick up where we left off - we've been apart for too long, and you have someone else now… but… I still do care for you, and your girlfriend _**is**_ attractive… maybe start as friends, see what happens?"

The silverette decided that the next chance she had, she'd try to give herself head trauma to forget about her lover's former girlfriend being revealed as bisexual and apparently being interested in her…

'_Ara, I wouldn't mind, though. It would make for some… interesting times in the bedroom,_' Kagami remarked offhandedly.

Hanami was suddenly bombarded by some… steamy pictures from Kagami's imagination about her idea of… interesting bedroom play. She quickly started blushing up a storm at the idea… _'Ka-Kagami-chan!'_ she indignantly thought.

"Umm… why is Hanami blushing?" Natarle asked.

Hanami jumped as the subject of her alter ego's imagination suddenly pointed out her current state. "Ah… um…" she stammered, going even redder as her own imagination took over and started going wild. "Uhhh…" she continued stammering.

"Hanami-chan?" Ryu asked before a glint in his eyes sparked. "Were you imagining Nat in bed with us?"

"… Eeeep," Hanami squeaked as she shot a horrified look at Ryu that basically just confirmed his suspicion. "Wh-wh-wh-what…" she managed to gasp out before her brain overloaded and she passed out on his shoulder.

"…I think we might have broken her," Natarle remarked.

"Just wait a moment," Ryu informed as he mentally counted to three. "Any thoughts, Kagami-chan?"

"Ara, did you really have to tease her until she passed out?" the silverette looked up, a red gleam in her eyes as she took a much more confident step out. "Though I would have to say that the idea seems… interesting," she grinned.

Natarle took a stunned look at Hanami, noticing the more confident attitude and different eye color. "A split personality?" she asked. "That's… not something you see every day…"

"Right in one!" Kagami chirped, posing with her left hand on her hip, her right hand flashing a V sign in front of her and a bright smile on her face. "Kagami Yukikaze, at your service!"

Ryu chuckled as he pulled her close and kissed her on the temple. "A two in one deal, but, we manage," he said jokingly. "Be careful though, she _is _liable to prank you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Natarle remarked. "Still, it's nice to meet you, Kagami."

"Likewise, Nat-chan!" the silverette nodded as she leaned into her lover's side happily.

"So, what are your thoughts on Nat here, Kagami-chan?" he asked. "And what should we do with her?"

"Hmm, she's definitely being sincere, and I can forgive her for hurting you back then given her circumstances," Kagami mused as she tapped a finger on her chin in her characteristic thinking pose. "We'll see, Ryu-kun, but I'll leave it to you to decide in the end. But Nat-chan…" she shot a pointed look at Natarle.

"Yes, Kagami?" Natarle asked, a bit nervous from the look.

"Hurting Ryu-kun intentionally again… is… impolite," Kagami smiled ominously, covering her mouth with a hand as her trademark Noh mask apparition and accompanying killing intent blazed to life behind her, its glowing red eyes fixed on Natarle's form.

"I… I'll keep that in mind…" Natarle replied, involuntarily taking a step back from the mask.

Ryu chuckled. "Quite creepy that mask of yours is, Kagami-chan," he informed. "I shudder at the thought of what our children will do with it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kagami laughed and just as quickly, the pressure was gone and the mask had vanished into thin air. "I know my mum and aunt can do it, too - I guess I might be able to pass it down… and I definitely like the idea of children."

"Hm, wonder what they would think of my immunity to it?" Ryu asked with a sly smirk, for some reason, the Noh mask Kagami/Hanami used had no effect on him.

"They'll hate you for it," Kagami nodded sagely.

"Anyway, I should probably get back to the Bridge," Natarle replied. "It was good to see you again, Ryu, and it was good to meet you, Kagami - you and Hanami."

Ryu nodded and smiled at her. "I'll see you later, Nat," he told her, waving as she departed. "Now," he declared turning to Kagami. "I believe we were going to work on the Exodus."

"Yup, we were. I'm just wondering if I should change into something more appropriate for this kind of work…" she looked over her own uniform, and then at the Exodus and the parts arranged around it. "…Then again, I probably won't be able to get anything to fit anyway."

Ryu chuckled. "Yeah… definitely going to have to go shopping for you, Kagami-chan," he told her. "And make sure you have a go bag packed and ready."

"Definitely," Kagami agreed. "Although… I'm actually starting to get used to not wearing a bra. It's… kind of liberating," she flapped her jacket slightly, the motion showing a barely-noticeable hint of her areolae now that it had been forcefully unbuttoned a notch.

"Careful," he warned her, as a nearby mechanic passed out from a nosebleed. "Don't want to have to beat down a fellow ORB military member for getting a peep show."

"Alright…" Kagami relented. "I guess I'll need to extend it a wee bit - that one button made too big a difference."

"Just maybe," Ryu agreed in amusement. "Although… it does give me ideas for in the bedroom…"

"Of course it does, but I think we should get to work before we get all touchy-feely and distracted again," Kagami's eyes twinkled with mirth.

Ryu nodded in agreement. "Let's get started then."

* * *

**Meanwhile, aboard the **_**Vesalius**_

* * *

Yzak walked down the corridors to Flay's quarters, carrying a tray of food again. Ever since that first conversation, he'd managed to convince the others to let him be the only person to bring her food.

And the others seemed to notice a change about him. With everyone else he was as hot-headed and abrasive as usual, but with Flay, he was actually _**nice**_.

Unbeknownst to Yzak, Dearka had started a betting pool as to when Yzak would realize that he was falling for the redhead.

When he knocked on the door, Flay's voice rang out. "It's open," she informed, allowing Yzak entrance, greeting him from her seat with a smile. "Hello, Yzak."

"Hey there, Flay," Yzak replied, heading over to the desk and setting the tray down on it. "Brought enough for both of us to have something."

Flay smiled again. "Thank you, Yzak," she said gratefully. "How have you been, today?"

"Not too bad," Yzak remarked. "Though I still have to deal with teasing and ribbing from my crewmates - I'm rather hot-headed and abrasive, I do admit it, but for some reason that all goes away when I'm talking with you."

Flay giggled a bit as she blushed slightly. "Normally for myself, I'm more concerned about my own appearance, but with you… I find myself being happy with how I am," she admitted. "It's… nice…"

"Agreed," Yzak replied. "Hanging out with you… does feel nice."

Flay smiled at him, fiddling with the hem of her dress a bit. "I have to admit though, I'm kinda sad…" she said slowly. "Eventually, we're going to say goodbye, and we won't really be able to see each other afterwards, will we?"

"Not really, no," Yzak agreed. "Part of me wishes this war hadn't happened… but then, we might not have met…"

Flay smiled. "I'm glad we met, Yzak," she agreed, taking a bite out of some of the meal. "Despite everything, the time I spent with you was fu-" Flay suddenly began choking, her hands flying to her throat as she rasped for air.

"Flay!" Yzak screamed, immediately going over to her. "What's wrong?!"

Flay gasped a bit, struggling. "All… er… gies…" she managed to get out. "Help… Yzak…"

"Hang on, Flay!" Yzak replied, scooping the redhead into his arms and launching out the door. Despite the Zero-G/Low-G of the ship, Yzak moved as fast as possible, forgoing the handrails to just kick off with all his strength in the direction they needed to go, getting to the Medbay in record time.

* * *

**One Hour Later, Medbay**

* * *

"Thankfully, you got her to us in time, Yzak," the Doctor of the _Vesalius _informed as he checked over the recovering Flay. "We were able to prevent any lasting damage from oxygen deprivation."

Yzak sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…" he replied, looking at Flay as she slept peacefully on a recovery bed. "So, she'll be alright?"

The doctor nodded, and he picked up the medical report. "Just fine, although… there is something we picked up in the medical scan we gave her to ensure her health," he informed, a confused frown on his face. "It appears that Miss Allster there… is a Coordinator."

Yzak's eyes widened at that. "What the hell?" he blurted out. "How's that possible?! I thought her father hated Coordinators!"

The doctor shrugged in response. "I cannot say for certain," he informed with a slight sigh. "My best guess, it would have been the mother's choice if the father never knew about it."

Yzak sighed. "This is nuts…" he remarked. "She spent so much time hating Coordinators because of her father… not knowing that she was one…"

The Doctor shrugged again. "I figured she would want to hear it from a friend rather than a stranger," he informed as he stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I need to report to the captain on the injuries we sustained during the attack."

"Got it," Yzak replied, waving at the doctor as he left, still gazing at Flay. '_This is going to turn her world upside down…_' he thought to himself, his eyes hardening with determination. '_She's going to need support, and I think I'm the only one who can give that now…_' he looked at her face as she groaned slightly, her eyelids fluttering as she regained consciousness. "Hey," he whispered to her.

"Hey, thank you, Yzak," she said, smiling. "You got me here pretty quickly, huh?"

"Yeah," Yzak replied. "The doc thinks it's a good thing I did, they were able to prevent any lasting damage according to him."

"I didn't even realize that I had allergies," she admitted with a small blush as she sat up. "Thanks for saving me."

Yzak nodded. "You're welcome, Flay," he replied, before giving a slight sigh, gathering himself. "Also, the doctors gave you a medical scan afterwards to make sure you were alright, and… they found something else…"

Flay blinked in confusion. "What?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "What did he find?"

Yzak braced himself. '_Here goes nothing…_' "Flay…" he said, "…you're… you're like me, and like everyone else on the ship…"

Flay gasped. "I'm… a Coordinator?" she asked. "But… how?"

"That's what I asked the doctor, knowing how much your father hates Coordinators," Yzak replied. "The doc can't say for certain, but his best guess is it was something your mother did without his knowledge… and since she's… gone… I doubt we could ask her…"

"That's… oh my god…" Flay stammered out. "I'm… a Coordinator…"

"Yeah… you are…" Yzak replied soothingly, placing an arm around her without even registering on it. "And even I have to admit, this is one hell of a way to find out…"

Flay nodded slowly. "Yeah…" she agreed. "It's mind blowing, really…"

"Agreed…" Yzak remarked. "And imagine what would happen if your father finds out…"

Flay nodded slowly. "I'm as good as disowned," she informed. "And that would be on a good day…"

Yzak nodded, his earlier realization that he was the only one who could support her just affirmed by what she'd said. "Flay… you don't need to go back to him," he told her. "You can go wherever you want once we get to the PLANTs… you could even… stay… if you wanted… but if going back to him is as bad an idea as we're thinking, you shouldn't do it."

"It probably would be for the best if I didn't go back to the EA, now that I know that I'm a Coordinator… it'll only be a matter of time until someone else finds out," she said slowly. "But… I don't have anything, no money, only this dress… I have nothing…"

"You don't have nothing, Flay," Yzak replied. "You have me. I promise, I'll be there for you."

Flay smiled at the pilot gratefully. "Thank you, Yzak," she said, relaxing into him. "That relieves me."

"You're welcome, Flay," Yzak replied, running a hand through her hair soothingly. He could feel her shifting next to him, and looked down at her - at the exact same time she was looking up at him, and their lips just happened to brush against each other.

Flay immediately blushed as their lips met, the back of her mind idly noting how soft and warm his lips felt against hers, and was unable to bring it upon herself to break away from the tender meeting of their lips.

For his part, Yzak's eyes had initially widened from shock, but as the seconds ticked past, a feeling of… _**rightness**_ seemed to settle over him, and his eyes drifted closed as he reached out with his other arm, wrapping it around Flay with the arm already around her and gently pulling her closer to him.

Flay felt her own eyes drift shut as she felt the security of Yzak's arms wrap around her, pulling her closer to him, her own hands resting on his chest as she pushed her lips deeper into his own.

As Yzak reacted to her deepening the kiss, reaching out with his tongue to tap against her lips, then slide into her mouth, he realized:

He'd fallen in love.

In the span of only a few days, he'd fallen in love with Flay. Dearka might make a joke about a whirlwind romance, but that really was what it was.

'_I love him…_' Flay told herself mentally as she accepted his tongue into her own mouth, massaging it slightly as she let out a soft moan. '_He… he makes me feel safe, even when my entire world falls out from around me…_'

Eventually, however, they needed to part for air. "Flay… um…" Yzak began, a little tongue-tied at first.

"I…" Flay started, before swallowing a bit. "Yzak, I love you."

Hearing that caused Yzak's eyes to widen, before he smiled. "I… I love you, too, Flay…" he replied, leaning towards her again.

Flay closed her eyes again, her heart soaring as their lips met again, clinging to him as she opened her mouth and sent her tongue out to meet Yzak's, intertwining with it as they kissed.

As their tongues intertwined, Yzak promised himself then and there that he would be there for Flay, no matter what.

Even if that caused him to break from ZAFT, and go elsewhere.

* * *

**END CHAPTER!**


End file.
